Manila, April 22 -- The economy of the newly-formed Negros Island Region (NIR) expanded by 5.9 percent in 2024, with an estimated value of PHP636 billion, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed.

At constant 2018 prices, last year's gross regional domestic product is higher by PHP35.35 billion compared to the value in 2023.

"This makes the NIR the seventh fastest growing region in the country," PSA-NIR Interim Regional Director John Campomanes said in his presentation of the highlights of the region's economic performance at the Nature's Village Resort here.

In June last year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act 12000 or the NIR Act, creating a new administrative region comprisin...