PH creative economy soars to P1.73T in 2023

THE country’s creative economy surged to P1.73 trillion last year and contributed some 7.1 percent to gross domestic product (GDP), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.

Year on year, the sector grew by 6.9 percent from P1.61 trillion in 2022.

The creative economy includes audio and audiovisual media; digital interactive goods and services; advertising, research and development, and other artistic services; and symbols and images and other related activities.

Media publishing and printing; music, arts and entertainment; visual arts; traditional cultural expressions; art galleries, museums, ballrooms, conventions and trade shows are also part of the creative economy.

Symbols and images took the biggest share of the creative economy last year at 31.5 percent or P541.75 billion. This was 2.4 percent higher than the P529.12 billion recorded in 2022.

This was followed by advertising, research and development, and other artistic services with 21.9 percent, while digital interactive goods and service activities contributed 21.1 percent.

A total of 7.26 million people were employed in creative industries last year, up 4.0 percent from the 2022’s 6.98 million.

Employment in traditional cultural expression activities posted the biggest share of 35.5 percent.

Meanwhile, symbols and images and other related activities and advertising, research and development, and other artistic services accounted for 30.3 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively.

Data regarding the creative

economy came from a pilot study and thus remains preliminary, the PSA said.

“The PSA plans to institutionalize the compilation of the Philippine Creative Economy Satellite Account subject to the approval of the PSA Board and provision of budgetary support from the national government,” it added.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.6 percent last year, markedly slower than the 7.6 percent seen in 2022 and below the government’s target range of 6.0-7.0 percent.

The government is targeting 6.5to 7.5-percent growth for 2024 and 6.5-8.0 percent up to 2028.

The interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to revisit the government’s macroeconomic assumptions for the medium term.