MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who deem themselves poor and food-poor is at its highest in two decades, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said on Wednesday, January 8.
Around 63% of Filipino families consider themselves poor — the highest self-rated poverty rating in 21 years, according to the SWS.
Meanwhile, 11% of families deem themselves borderline poor while 26% do not consider themselves not poor.
“The December 2024 percentage of Self-Rated Poor families of 63% was 4 points up from 59% in September 2024, rising steadily for the third consecutive quarter since the significant 12-point rise from 46% in March 2024 to 58% in June 2024. This was the highest percentage of Self-Rated Poor families in 21 years, since 64% in November 2003,” the SWS said in its report.
The December 2024 self-poverty rounded up the resulting overall self-rated poverty for 2024 at 59%. This is nine points higher than the yearly average of 48% in 2023.
Self-rated poverty in December 2024 totaled 17.4 million, a 1 million increase from the 16.3 million recorded in September 2024.
A total of 10.2% are “newly poor”.
“Of the estimated 17.4 million Self-Rated Poor families in December 2024, 2.8 million were Newly Poor, 2.1 million were Usually Poor, and 12.4 million were Always Poor,” the SWS said.
The SWS listed the self-rated poverty score per area in December 2024 as follows:
- Metro Manila: 52% (from 52% in September 2024)
- Balance Luzon (areas outside of Metro Manila): 55% (from 55% in September 2024)
- Visayas: 74% (from 62% in September 2024)
- Mindanao: 76% (from 67% in September 2024)
Visayas and Mindanao recorded significant increases in self-rated poverty. The four-point increase in the country’s self-rated poverty was concentrated in the two major islands.
The SWS also found that self-rated food poverty increased from September to December 2024, rising from 46% to 51%, a five-point increase.
The firm said “this was the highest in over 20 years, since the 51% in March 2004.”
Meanwhile, the self-rated food borderline stood at 13%, while those who were not food-poor accounted for 36% in December 2024.
Self-rated poverty was up in all areas except Metro Manila. Visayas had the largest increase in self-rated food poor families, going from 49% in September to 61% in December 2024.
However, self-rated food poverty remained the highest in Mindanao. Self-rated food poverty on the island remained at 68%.
For Balance Luzon, 42% of families believed they were food poor. Metro Manila had the steadiest and lowest self-rated food poverty score at 39%.
The SWS also found the self-rated poverty threshold fell from P15,000 in June 2024, P12,000 in September 2024, and P10,000 in December 2025. The self-rated poverty threshold is the minimum amount that families deem they need to say that they are not poor.
The national median self-rated poverty gap, or the average amount of additional income that families say they need, remained at P5,000 from September 2024 to December 2024.
The SWS was conducted from December 12 to 18, 2024 with face to face interviews among 2,160 adults.
In Balance Luzon, 1,080 were interviewed while 360 participants were interviewed each in Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao. The sampling error for national numbers was ±2%, while the sampling error for Balance Luzon was ±3%, and then ±5% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.
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