Eastern Samar grew fastest in 2024–PSA
Eastern Samar posted the fastest economic growth among Philippine provinces and highly urbanized cities, lifted by a postpandemic tourism surge and government investments to improve connectivity across the archipelago.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed Eastern Samar—popular for its beaches, eco parks and historical sites—grew by 10.2 percent year-on-year in 2024, outpacing both the national growth rate of 5.7 percent and the Eastern Visayas region’s 6.2 percent.
Puerto Princesa and Batanes rounded out the top three, growing 9.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.
“Eastern Samar benefited from a rebound in domestic tourism, particularly in eco-heritage sites, which created ripple effects for micro, small and medium enterprises,” said John Paolo Rivera, a senior research fellow at the state-run Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
“Additionally, the province’s agricultural and fishery sectors likely contributed to inclusive rural growth, especially as weather patterns in 2024 were relatively favorable compared to previous years,” Rivera added.
But Leonardo Lanzona, an economist at Ateneo de Manila University, cautioned that Eastern Samar’s superlative growth was likely inflated by base effects.
Still, he said the province may be starting to catch up with others by reducing poverty levels, stressing that the government “should aim not for growth per se but inclusive growth.”
Poverty incidence
“Eastern Samar is one of the poorer provinces in the country. This observed growth can be simply a base effect,” Lanzona said.
“In any case, Eastern Samar at the same time was able to reduce its poverty incidence significantly around this period. This indicates that if we focus on impoverished regions, the impact on growth is higher,” he added.
Nationwide, all 82 provinces and 33 highly urbanized cities posted gains over 2023.
But the biggest bragging rights went to what might be called the Philippines’ “trillion-peso club”—Quezon City, Makati, Laguna and Manila—whose economies each crossed the P1 trillion mark.
Quezon City led with P1.33 trillion, followed by Makati (P1.20 trillion), Laguna (P1.08 trillion) and Manila (P1.04 trillion). Together, they account for more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product.
