Half of Filipino families still consider themselves poor

Half of Filipino families still consider themselves poor – SWS

June 7, 2025 , 10:22 PM

By Gabriel Kim Leal

(June 7, 2025) – Despite a slight improvement, half of Filipino families still consider themselves poor, according to the latest survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

In its nationwide poll conducted from April 23 to 28, SWS found that 50% of families rated themselves as poor, while 42% said they were not poor, and 8% placed themselves on the borderline between the two.

“The estimated numbers of Self-Rated Poor families were 14.1 million on April 23-28, and 15.5 million on April 11-15,” said the SWS in its report.

The figure marks a five-point drop from the previous survey held earlier that same month (April 11 to 15), when self-rated poverty stood at 55%. That earlier figure had followed three consecutive months of increase: 50% in January, 51% in February, and 52% in March.

Compared to April 11-15, self-rated poverty fell the most in Metro Manila, dropping 12 points from 45% to 33%, and in Mindanao, down 9 points from 70% to 61%. In Balance Luzon, the figure remained nearly unchanged at 44%, while in the Visayas, it stayed at a high 67%.

Meanwhile, the percentage of families who considered themselves “not poor” went up across the board.

“At the same time, Not Poor increased in all areas: it rose by 15 points from 45% to 60% in Metro Manila, 7 points from 44% to 51% in Balance Luzon, 3 points from 21% to 24% in the Visayas, and 13 points from 16% to 29% in Mindanao,” added the SWS.

When asked about the kind of food they eat, a measure of self-rated food poverty, 41% said they were “food-poor”, while 7% considered themselves borderline, and 51% said they were not food-poor.

The survey involved 1,500 face-to-face interviews with adults nationwide: 600 in Balance Luzon, and 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The margin of error is ±3% for national results and up to ±6% for regional estimates.

SWS used population projections from the Philippine Statistics Authority to weight the results.

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