28 April 2023 – Philippine digital economy crosses P2 trillion mark

Louella Desiderio – The Philippine Star
April 28, 2023 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The value of the country’s digital economy went up by 11 percent in 2022, but its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) declined, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data from the PSA showed the digital economy hit P2.08 trillion last year, higher than the P1.87 trillion in 2021.

While the value of the digital economy increased, its share to the GDP dropped slightly to 9.4 percent last year from 9.6 percent in 2021.

The digital economy covers digital transactions such as digital-enabling infrastructure, e-commerce, and digital media or content.

Digital-enabling infrastructure accounted for the largest share of total digital transactions last year with P1.60 trillion or 77.2 percent. This is 7.5 percent higher than the P1.49 trillion recorded in 2021.

The top two contributors were telecommunication services and professional and business services, accounting for 30.7 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

E-commerce had a 20 percent share amounting to P416.12 billion last year, a 26.5 percent increase from P328.84 billion in 2021.

Digital media or content accounted for 2.8 percent or P57.41 billion of the total digital economy last year, rising by 11.8 percent.

Individuals employed in the digital economy went up by 8.2 percent to 6.05 million last year from 5.59 million in 2021.

Digital-enabling infrastructure recorded the highest share of employment in the digital economy last year with 77.2 percent or 4.67 million individuals.

This was followed by e-commerce which had a 20.4 percent share or 1.23 million employed individuals.

Digital media or content had a 2.4 percent share or 147,984 employed individuals.