Malaysia was Asia’s fastest-growing economy for the third quarter of this year, not the Philippines as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently claimed.
Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) posted a 14.2% year-on-year growth from July to September while the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Nov. 10 that the Philippines’ GDP grew by 7.6% for the same period.
Vietnam’s economy also performed better than the Philippines during the third quarter, its GDP expanding by 13.7%, .
Yet, in his speech before the Filipino community in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 19, Marcos, who assumed office on June 30, said:
Ukol sa ekonomiya na tayo ay… Sa ngayon, we are the fastest growing country in Asia, sa ngayon (About the economy that we are… As of now, we are the fastest growing country in Asia, as of now).
Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are all in Southeast Asia.
Saudi Arabia, located in Western Asia, registered a 8.6% growth rate at the time Marcos made the claim.
Overall economic performance is typically measured using real GDP, which accounts for the market value of all the final goods and services produced within the country in a given period of time, adjusted for inflation. (ML, RR)