Marcos: PH ready for transition to upper middle-income status

The Philippines is ready for its transition to upper middle-income country status, President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said on Monday.

Marcos made the remark during the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) 2025, noting that the country's economic progress should be matched with reforms that reflect accountability, alignment, and national ownership.

“This forum also marks our readiness for the next step: our transition to upper middle-income country status,” Marcos said in his speech. 

''This transition demands a kind of partnership built on stronger alignment, shared goals, and genuine national ownership,'' he added. 

In July, Malacañang expressed hope that the Philippines would become an upper middle-income country under the Marcos administration.

The World Bank’s classification for fiscal year 2026 showed that the Philippines remained a lower-middle-income economy, even as its gross national income (GNI) per capita in 2024 stood at $4,470, up from GNI per capita of $4,320 in 2023.

The GNI per capita measures the country’s total income divided by its population.

The World Bank had said that the Philippines’ elevation to upper middle-income status might take longer, possibly by 2027. —AOL, GMA Integrated News