According to the Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER), the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for FY2022 is projected at 7.1%. This is the highest growth rate among the four ASEAN countries (the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia). Incidentally, the GDP forecasts for the four countries are 5.4% for Malaysia, 4.7% for Indonesia, and 3.5% for Thailand, with an average growth rate of 4.4% for the four countries.
The Philippines' projected growth rate of 7.1% in 2022 is a figure that somehow meets the Philippine government's growth rate target of 7-8%.
The Japan Center for Economic Research forecasts a Philippine growth rate of 5.1% in 2023, down from the previous forecast of 5.9%.
Japan's GDP growth rate has been one of the lowest in the world for years, with forecasts of 1.9% in 2022 and 0.9% in 2023.
Of course, there is still a big difference between Japan and the Philippines in terms of GDP. Japan's GDP is $5.65 trillion, or $38,448 per capita. On the other hand, the Philippines' GDP is $376.8 billion, or $3,485 per capita.
Regardless of the amount, having the feeling that one's life is growing day by day makes a huge difference in one's attitude toward the future.
If we believe that we will be richer in the future, we will be able to endure even if our current life is a little difficult, and we will be able to live with a cheerful mindset.
I was born in 1956, the year the economic white paper stated that "it is no longer postwar. At that time, Japan was still poor, only 10 years after the defeat in the war. The manga "Sunset on Third Street" takes place in the 1950s, so reading that manga brings back memories of my childhood.
Looking back, I was really poor. I think it may have been because I was small, but I have an image of a brighter world.
Older people may yearn to move to the Philippines because they feel that the life they remember from when they were small, when they were poor but rich in spirit, still remains in the Philippines.
Stagnant Japan and growing Philippines. It may not be long before the Philippines becomes richer than Japan.
