Zamboanga, BARMM have highest poverty rate; NCR ‘least poor’ among regions

MANILA, Philippines — The Zamboanga Peninsula has the highest poverty incidence among the country’s regions, according to 2023 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority on Thursday.

Of households in Zamboanga or Region IX, 24.4% are living and earning below the poverty threshold. That means one of every four families there are very poor.

It is followed by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with a poverty incidence of 23.5%.

The poverty threshold per family for the Zamboanga Peninsula is at P13,897 per month, while the threshold for BARMM is P12,884. The poverty threshold is the minimum level of income or expenses is required to meet basic needs.

The newly established Negros Island Region is the third poorest region, with a poverty incidence of 22.6% and a poverty threshold of P14,185.

Lowest poverty rate. The National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest poverty incidence at 1.1% but with a higher poverty threshold of P15,713.

“At the sub-national level, NCR remained the least poor among the regions, with a poverty incidence among families estimated at 1.1% in 2023,” the PSA said in its report.

Here are the poverty incidences per region in 2023, with their respective poverty thresholds.

    NCR: 1.1% (poverty threshold: P15,713)
    Cordillera Administrative Region: 4.4% (poverty threshold: P13,239)
    Ilocos Region: 8.4% (poverty threshold: P14,356)
    Cagayan Valley:  7.2% (poverty threshold: P13,400)
    Central Luzon: 5.7% (poverty threshold: P16,046)  
    Calabarzon: 5.3% (poverty threshold: P15,457)
    Mimaropa: 16.3% (poverty threshold: P12,697)
    Bicol: 20.3% (poverty threshold: P13,989)
    Western Visayas: 9.8% (poverty threshold: P13,801)
    Negros Island Region: 22.6% (poverty threshold: P14,185)
    Central Visayas: 12.3% (poverty threshold: P14,397)
    Eastern Visayas: 20.3% (poverty threshold: P13,492)
    Zamboanga Peninsula: 24.4% (poverty threshold: P13,897)
    Northern Mindanao: 18.4% (poverty threshold: P13,964)
    Davao: 11.3% (poverty threshold: P13,134)  
    SOCCSKSARGEN: 17% (poverty threshold: P12,241)  
    Caraga: 14.9% (poverty threshold: P12,319)  
    BARMM: 23.5% (poverty threshold: P12,884)

Overall poverty incidence

The poverty incidence for 2023 was determined at 10.9%, which means that 109 out of 1000 families in the Philippines are considered poor, according to the PSA. The overall poverty threshold for the country is P13,873.

This translates to 2.99 million poor families in 2023. The 2023  rate is a decrease from 2021, which found that poverty incidence was at 13.2%.  

“Ang poverty incidence among families ay naitala sa 10.9% nitong 2023. Ibig sabihin na 109 sa bawat 1000 na pamilya ay matatawag na mahirap sa taong 2023,” said PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa. (The poverty incidence among families is 10.9% in 2023. This means that for every 1000 families, there are 109 that are poor.)

On an individual level, there was a 15.5% poverty incidence in 2023, which is a decrease from the 18.1% in 2021. This means that there were 155 Filipinos out of 1000 who came from poor families.  

This translates to 17.54 million poor Filipinos in 2023, declining from 19 million in 2021.

The PSA surveyed a total of 163,256 families from January to December 2023.