Butuan city: Caraga Region's economy expanded by 5.7 percent in 2025, outpacing the national average of 4.4 percent and ranking second among the country's 18 regions, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-13) reported Thursday.
According to Philippines News Agency, in 2024, the region also ranked as the second fastest-growing regional economy in the country, marking a 6.9 percent growth in its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). Last year, PSA-13 officer-in-charge Regional Director Guillermo Lipio Jr. stated that the services sector was the primary driver of growth, contributing the largest share to the region's GRDP.
Among the major industries in the region, Services posted the highest growth last year at 7.2 percent, followed by Industry (4.8 percent) and Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (0.4 percent). Services also posted the highest share of last year's GRDP growth at 57.0 percent, valued at PHP218.66 billion, underscoring the sector's dominance over Industry and Agriculture. The Industry sector followed with a 32.9 percent share, amounting to PHP126.37 billion, while Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing contributed 10.1 percent, or PHP38.69 billion.
"This performance highlights the growing role of Services in shaping Caraga's economy, supported by Industry and Agriculture as complementary pillars," Lipio said during the presentation here. The region's per capita GRDP also rose to PHP129,925 in 2025, up from PHP124,236 the previous year.
Caraga trailed Western Visayas, which led the nation with 6.38 percent growth last year, and placed ahead of the Negros Island Region, which posted 5.699 percent. Among the sectors under Services, financial and insurance activities logged the highest increase last year, at 24.0 percent, followed by wholesale and retail trade at 20.5 percent and transportation and storage at 10.7 percent.
In the Industry, manufacturing posted the highest growth last year with 39.7 percent, followed by construction with 29.3 percent, and mining with 22.3 percent. In Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, crops logged the highest growth during the period at 53.0 percent, followed by livestock and poultry at 21.6 percent and support activities at 11.7 percent.
In terms of Gross Domestic Expenditure last year, the top three growth rates were recorded in valuables at 40.14 percent, imports of services from the rest of the world at 22.13 percent, and imports of goods from the rest of the world at 16.88 percent. "The per capita Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) in the region last year was registered at PHP98,053, or a 5.6 percent increase compared to the previous year's estimate at PHP92,854," Lipio said.
The HFCE, he added, also accounted for the highest share of expenditure items in the regional economy last year, at 75.5 percent, followed by gross capital formation (36.2 percent), net exports to the rest of the world (23.4 percent), government final consumption expenditure (17.3 percent), and net exports to the rest of the world (-52.3 percent).
Gemima Olam, the regional director of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development-13, welcomed the region's economic growth last year. "The results affirm our economy's continuing expansion," Olam said, adding that the numbers indicated where the region is strongest and where vulnerability remains. Representatives from different government line agencies, the academe, and the private sector also witnessed the presentation.
