Malacañang on Wednesday expressed optimism that the Philippines is on the verge of becoming an upper middle-income country this year, seen as proof of the administration’s push for sustained economic growth.

Based on the World Bank’s assessment, the Philippines’ gross national income (GNI) per capita stood at USD4,470 in 2024, which is only USD26 short of the benchmark GNI per capita tor upper middle-income countries.

“Of course masaya po ang Palasyo dahil nakikita po natin ang pagtatrabaho ng administrasyon para po mapaganda ang ating ekonomiya,” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing.

“At ang sabi nga rin po ni Secretary Balisacan ay US$26 na lamang po ang kulang at hoping po na nito pong taon na ito, 2025, ay maa-attain na po natin ito pero malalaman po natin ito sa July 2026,” added Castro.

Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan earlier assured that the country is likely to achieve the target status within the year, but noted that official confirmation will have to wait until July 2026 when the World Bank releases its report.

But to achieve upper middle-income status, Balisacan said the Philippine economy has to keep growing. The country is expected to grow by 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year. Next year, the expected growth is 6 to 7 percent.

The DepDev chief also said there is less expectation that the peso will depreciate that much, adding that inflation is not expected to be significantly higher than in the rest of the world.

Those factors can influence the Philippines’ migration from lower middle-income to upper middle-income economy, according to Balisacan.