MANILA -- The Philippines ended the pandemic year of 2020 with its worst economic performance since the country began releasing growth data just after World War II in 1947, in what officials say is a consequence of policies to save lives during the COVID-19 crisis.
The country's gross domestic product shrank 9.5% last year -- the first annual contraction since 1998 -- a year after the Asian financial crisis erupted, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Thursday.
