Quality of life improved for 32% – survey

MANILA, Philippines — A third of Filipinos said their quality of life improved over the past year, a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The survey, conducted from Jan. 17 to 20, found 32 percent of the respondents saying their quality of life improved compared to 12 months ago.

It was down from 36 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in December, although still higher than the 30 percent obtained in March 2024, the first poll conducted last year.

Meanwhile, those who said the quality of their lives worsened slightly increased from 23 percent in December 2024 to 25 percent in January 2025.

Forty-three percent said it stayed the same, slightly up from 41 percent in the last poll.

The latest survey resulted in a “net gainers” score of +7, classified as “high” by SWS.

It was down from the “very high” +13 obtained in December.

The “net gainers” score is the rounded off difference of those who said their lives improved from those who said their lives worsened.

Across areas, the latest “net gainers” score was highest among those in balance Luzon at +13 (from +14), followed by those in Metro Manila at +9 (from +14), the Visayas at +2 (from +9) and Mindanao at -2 (from +10).

By educational attainment, the “net gainers” score was highest among high school and college graduates at +11 (both from +15), followed by non-elementary graduates at +1 (from +6) and elementary graduates at -1 (+12).

The survey, conducted by SWS in partnership with the Stratbase group, had 1,800 adult respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.31 percent for national percentages.