According to a number of local economic planners, the Philippines have experienced faster growth than many of its neighbors in 2015. To be more specific, the Philippine economy grew by 6 percent in Q3 of 2015 according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This Q3 growth is a 0.2 percentage point improvement from the 5.8 GDP growth in the second quarter of the same year. 

In the first nine months of the year 2015, there was a steady 5.6 percent rate for the country's GDP, according to Arsenio Balisacan, the Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority of the Philippines. Only China's 6.9 percent growth and Vietnam's 6.9 percent growth were able to beat the GDP growth of the nation. 

An Overview of the 2015 Philippine Economy 

The steadily growing economy of the Philippines show no signs of stopping, since it's at least the third fastest growing country in the Asian and ASEAN region by the looks of things. That 6 percent promises better things to come in 2016. With that said, here's a review of what had happened in the past year. 

• Government Consumption Expenditure for the First Three Quarters of 2015: For the first three quarters of 2015, there was growth in the average government final consumption expenditure from last year's 0.2 percent to the 2015 rate of 7.2 percent, which is a significant leap. 

• Public Sector Performance and Q3 Government Consumption Expenditure: In Q3, the Philippines' public sector improved from 3.9 percent to 17.4 percent in terms of government consumption expenditure as well. 

• Household Consumption Growth: Household income has increased by 6.3 percent, resulting in more jobs, an influx of remittances, and low inflation in the country. 

• Public and Private Sector Investment Strength: Thanks to the bolstering and strengthening of the private and public sector investments into the Philippines, capital formation went up to 8.9 percent. 

• Third Quarter Public Construction Statistics: As for public construction, it went from the previous quarter's 20.6 percent and doubled to 41.2 percent altogether, showcasing higher demand and more projects finished. 

• Retail and Wholesale Trade Acceleration: There's increased domestic consumption as well for the retail and wholesale trade section. There's even a 7.3 percent jump on the supply side, which resulted from the services sector's drive for growth. 

• Further Growth in Other Sectors: Other sectors in 2015 also experienced growth in engagement and sales by 8 percent, particularly the education, restaurant, hotel, sports, and cultural sectors. Meanwhile, from 4.7 percent last year, the importation of services  and goods rose up to 13.5 percent. 

• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Host: Balisacan claims that the fact that the Philippines hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation is part of the reason why these major and minor growths in the Philippine industry is happening in the first place. 

The Downsides and What's to Come in 2016 

Not everything grew or received positive attention in the Philippines in 2015. Its industrial sector grew slower even though manufacturing improvements came about. The agriculture industry also has modest growth because of the El Niño phenomenon affected all the crops within the Asian region. By 2016, there should be improvements in the country's exports as well. 

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