Manila  - The Philippines' economic growth slowed down to 4.6 per cent in 2008 as the country began to feel the impact of the global economic crisis, the government said Thursday.

The 2008 gross domestic growth (GDP) was down from 7.2 per cent posted in 2007, a three-decade high, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board
(NSCB).

The country's gross national product (GNP), which includes remittances from Filipinos abroad, grew 6.1 per cent in 2008, down from 8 per cent the previous year.

"The seasonally adjusted estimates of GDP and GNP confirm that the Philippine economy is not completely shielded from the global financial crisis," NSCB secretary general Romulo Virola said.

The agricultural sector, which makes up 20 per cent of the country's economy, grew 3.2 per cent in 2008, below 4.9 per cent in 2007.

Growth in the industry sector slowed down to 5 per cent from 7.1 per cent, while growth in the services sector also slid to 4.9 per cent from 8.1 per cent.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Filipinos should be proud of the country's economic growth considering that "two thirds of the world is in recession."

"Keeping the global crisis from consuming our nation has been a great accomplishment of our party," Arroyo said at a meeting of her political party in the northern province of Pampanga. (dpa)