00:00The country is on the cusp of hitting upper middle income status, or UMIC, by the end of this year or next.
00:06Sell says a confident finance minister in a statement earlier today.
00:10Recent World Bank data shows that the country is at lower middle income threshold right now,
00:15with a gross national income per capita of $4,470 reached last year, a record high for the country.
00:22Gross national income per capita measures the economic output of each citizen that covers earnings here at home and abroad.
00:29Last year's GNI per capita surpassed the lower end of $4,454 to $4,592 range under the Philippine Development Plan 2025 to 2028.
00:41To attain upper middle income or UMIC status, the country must reach the range of $4,496 to $13,935.
00:50And the lower end of the range is apparently well within reach, as Finance Secretary Ralph Recton noted.
