PSA to rebase GDP from 2000 to 2018

MANILA, Philippines — The base year for the estimation of economic output will be changed from 2000 to 2018 to improve measurement and capture growth in more sub-industries, said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The agency is set to conduct briefings in May to present the rebasing process and discuss how historical data will be affected by the rebasing.

“Right now, the base of the GDP is 2000 and part of the improvement for the measurement is really to rebase it,” National Statistician and PSA chief Dennis Mapa said.

“And for 2020, we will be rebasing it to year 2018. In addition, we will be adding more sub-industries on the production side. The idea is, some of these are growing and we have to measure them separately. I cannot say right now the adjustment because it depends on the different components, but once we rebase, we will also be reporting the previous years based on the 2018 base year,” he added.

In line with the rebasing, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said growth targets may change following this.

“We will be studying very carefully how we will be adjusting our targets to be in line with the revised base,” she said.