Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Philippines reaching upper-middle-income status is a milestone but not an endpoint, urging continued work to lift the economy further.
Speaking at a press briefing in Vancouver, Canada, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is on an official visit, Castro said in Filipino that becoming an upper-middle-income country “is not the finish line” and that much still needs to be done for the country to rise further.
Her remarks followed the World Bank’s latest country income classification, released July 1, which moved the Philippines from lower-middle to upper-middle income. The reclassification was based on the country’s gross national income per capita reaching $4,850 in 2025, exceeding the $4,636 threshold for the upper-middle bracket. As reported by BusinessWorld, the figure marked a turnaround from the previous year, when the Philippines narrowly missed the cutoff by $26 with a GNI per capita of $4,470.
The World Bank attributed the upgrade to broad-based growth rather than a single sector, noting that GDP expanded by an average of 5.8 percent annually over the past five years. The Philippines was one of five economies to move up to upper-middle income this year, alongside Jordan, Micronesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, according to the World Bank.
Government officials have welcomed the recognition while acknowledging its limits. Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the upgrade “confirms the resilience of the Philippine economy,” but noted that income disparities persist and that the priority is to make growth more inclusive.
Economists have cautioned that the new status brings challenges as well. As Fortune reported, both the Philippines and Vietnam now face the risk of the so-called middle-income trap, in which economies stall after rapid growth, and may see reduced access to concessional development financing over time. Reuters and other outlets have noted that elevated inflation, underemployment, and income inequality continue to affect millions of Filipinos despite the improved classification.
