MANILA: The Philippines has been reclassified by the World Bank as an upper-middle income country — a target it has been trying to achieve since the 1980s — after posting a record gross national income per capita of $4,850. The upper-middle income, or UMIC, rank is the World Bank’s category for economies with GNI per capita ranging from $4,636 to $14,375. The Philippines was previously in the global lender’s lower-middle income bracket.

The World Bank upgrade marks a long-sought economic milestone for the Philippines, but high prices, underemployment, and income inequality continue to plague millions of Filipinos

Philippines achieves upper-middle income status after years of robust growth. Experts warn the hardest work lies ahead to avoid the middle-income trap.

MANILA: The Philippines has been reclassified by the World Bank as an upper-middle income country — a target it has been trying to achieve since the 1980s — after posting a record…

Composite image from INQUIRER/AFP files photos. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has officially attained upper-middle-income status under the World Bank’s latest income…

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has finally crossed into upper-middle income status—after nearly four decades as a lower-middle-income economy. Yet for many Filipinos still…

This milestone is real, and it took decades of work by millions of Filipinos, not any single administration