CEBU CITY — Economic growth in Cebu Province and Cebu City slowed in 2025, reflecting weaker expansion across Central Visayas and the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Cebu Province’s 2.7 percent growth was down from 7.4 percent in 2024, while Cebu City’s 5.8 percent expansion was also lower compared with 7 percent a year earlier.
The PSA Cebu Provincial Statistical Office released the figures Oct. 1 at a briefing on the 2025 Provincial Product Accounts.
Nonetheless, Cebu Province’s gross domestic product (GDP), excluding the independently administered cities of Cebu, was P453.8 billion, up from P441.7 billion in 2024. Likewise, Cebu City’s GDP rose to P353.8 billion from P334.4 billion. GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced in an economy.
Health and social work activities led growth in Cebu Province at 11.8 percent, followed by public administration and defense, including compulsory social security, at 11.3 percent.
Financial and insurance activities expanded by 9.6 percent.
On the other hand, mining and quarrying posted the province’s biggest industry decline at 13.4 percent.
Meanwhile, in Cebu City, health and social work activities also grew fastest at 13.1 percent. Public administration and defense expanded by 9.3 percent, followed by transportation and storage at 7.9 percent.
Cebu City’s per capita GDP increased by 5.7 percent to about P365,000 — exceeding the regional average of P192,700. Cebu Province’s figure rose by 1.3 percent to about P127,000 but remained below the regional average.
PSA Central Visayas officer-in-charge Wilma Perante said the accounts could help local governments identify economic gaps, target investments and develop policies for rural communities, tourism, business process management and local enterprises.
Central Visayas’ economy grew by 3.7 percent in 2025, down from 7.3 percent in 2024, with total output reaching P1.32 trillion.
Perante said the region remained the largest economy outside Mega Manila, supported by nearly P35 billion in local investment approvals and continued nonresidential development.
The slowdown coincided with weaker national growth. The Philippine economy expanded by 4.4 percent in 2025, down from 5.7 percent in 2024, also its weakest annual performance in five years.
Fourth-quarter growth slowed to 3 percent from 5.3 percent a year earlier and a revised 3.9 percent in the third quarter.
Weaker government spending, investment and consumer spending contributed to the slowdown amid the controversial flood control scandal.
