Self-rated poverty at 58 percent, highest since 2008

MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who rated their families as poor has reached its highest in 16 years, a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) found.

Results of the June 23 to July 1 survey released on Thursday found that 58 percent of the respondents rated their families as poor, up by 12 points from 46 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted by SWS in March.

It was also the highest since the 59 percent obtained in June 2008 under the Arroyo administration.

According to the polling firm, the latest self-rated poverty translated to an estimated 16 million poor Filipinos in June 2024, up from 12.9 million families in March 2024.

Meanwhile, those who rated their families as “not poor” in the latest survey matched the record high of 30 percent first obtained in December 2014, up by seven points from 23 percent in March 2024.

SWS said those who said their families were “borderline poor” dropped to a record-low 12 percent, from 30 percent in the previous survey.

Self-rated poverty was highest among those in Mindanao at 71 percent, followed by those in the Visayas at 67 percent, balance Luzon at 52 percent and Metro Manila at 39 percent.

Those who rated their families as “not poor” were highest among those in Metro Manila at 46 percent, followed by those in the rest of Luzon at 37 percent, the Visayas at 18 percent and Mindanao at 17 percent.

Food poverty

The latest survey also found that self-rated “food poverty” or the rating based on the food they eat also reached its highest since 2008.

From 33 percent in March 2024, it went up to 46 percent in June 2024 – the highest rate since the 49 percent obtained in June 2008. 

Those who rated their families as “not food-poor” increased from 31 percent to 39 percent, while those who considered their families as “borderline food-poor” dropped from 36 percent to 15 percent.

Self-rated food poverty was highest among respondents in Mindanao at 61 percent, followed by those in the Visayas at 50 percent, balance Luzon at 42 percent and Metro Manila at 31 percent.

The survey had 1,500 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent for national percentages.

SWS has conducted quarterly surveys on self-rated poverty since 1992, except in the first three quarters of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.