Real versus nominal value (economics)
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of aggregate output. Nominal GDP in a particular period reflects prices which were current at the time, whereas real GDP compensates for inflation. Price indices and the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts are constructed from bundles of commodities and their respective prices. In the case of GDP, a suitable price index is the GDP price index. In the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts, nominal GDP is called "GDP in current dollars" (that is, in prices current for each designated year), and real GDP is called "GDP in [base-year] dollars" (that is, in dollars that can purchase the same quantity of commodities as in the base year).
External debt of the Philippines
The Debt-to-GDP ratio is the proportion of a country's federal debt in relation to its total output or GDP. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the ratio of what the Philippines owes from foreign creditors (external debt) to what it has been producing (GDP) has gone through a significant growth from 61.6% in 1999 to 68.2% in 2001. The ratio fluctuated until 2004 when it started a steady decline up to 2008. It rose again to 38.4% in 2009, but eventually fell down to 36.9% in 2010. Up until 2015, the trend was declining, with a 27.3% ratio at the end of 2014. Figures have generally been fluctuating (in terms of public and private external debt). Governments basically aim for low debt-to-GDP ratios because such is an indicator that the economy is producing high enough output to pay off its borrowings.