Notwithstanding both internal and external headwinds, the Philippine economy managed to grow by 6.2 percent in 2018. While this is lower than the 6.7 percent growth in 2017 and the 7.0 – 8.0 percent official growth target, this growth marked the seventh consecutive year of more than six percent growth for the Philippines. The sustained economic performance brought average annual economic growth rate for the last seven years to an unprecedented 6.5 percent. This was accompanied by a marked improvement in poverty reduction during the same period.