Eight of the 10 richest provinces in the Philippines are located near Metro Manila, according to a special release by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The 10 provinces with biggest contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) are dominated by those from Calabarzon (Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Rizal) and Central Luzon (Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bataan). The two outliers were Cebu in Central Visayas and Pangasinan in the Ilocos region.
Laguna maintained its distinction as the country’s only trillion-peso provincial economy since 2023, with its GDP reaching P1.08 trillion in 2024. The province had the biggest share of national GDP at 4.9 percent, followed by Cavite at 3.7 percent and Batangas at 3.1 percent.
Other provinces composing the top 10 included Bulacan at 3.0 percent, Pampanga at 2.7 percent, Cebu at 2.0 percent, Pangasinan at 1.8 percent, Rizal at 1.7 percent, Nueva Ecija at 1.5 percent and Bataan at 1.4 percent.
Overall, the total GDP of all 82 provinces was estimated at P12.44 trillion, making up 55.9 percent of the national GDP in 2024.
The PSA noted that 69 of the 82 provinces were predominantly services-based, meaning services-related activities were the largest contributor to their economies. Nine provincial economies were Industry-based and four were Agriculture forestry and fishing-based.
All 82 provinces posted annual growth in 2024. Eastern Samar recorded the fastest annual growth of 10.2 percent.
Other fast-growing provinces were Batanes at 9.57 percent, Dinagat Islands at 9.56 percent, Bataan at 9.3 percent, Bohol at 8.8 percent, Camiguin at 8.6 percent, Marinduque at 8.5 percent, Siquijor at 7.9 percent, Tarlac at 7.6 percent and Misamis Occidental at 7.5 percent.