49% of families see themselves as poor – SWS

MANILA, Philippines — Around one in every two Filipino families considers themselves poor, according to a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey, conducted from June 25 to 29, showed that 49 percent of the respondents rated their families as poor.

It was almost similar to the 50 percent obtained in a similar survey in April.

The latest self-rated poverty translated to 13.7 million poor families, down from 14.1 million in the previous poll, SWS said.

Meanwhile, some 41 percent considered their families as “not poor,” almost similar to 42 percent in April.

The remaining 10 percent said they were neither poor nor not poor, described by the polling firm as those on the borderline. It went up from eight percent in the previous survey.

Across areas, self-rated poverty was highest among those in Mindanao at 69 percent (up from 61 percent), followed by those in the Visayas at 60 percent (from 67 percent), balance Luzon at 38 percent (from 43 percent) and Metro Manila at 36 percent (from 33 percent).

The latest survey also found that 41 percent identified their families as “food poor” or poor based on the food they eat, similar to the April survey.

Those who rated their families as “not food poor” decreased from 51 percent to 49 percent, while those who considered their families as “borderline food poor” increased from seven percent to 10 percent.

Self-rated food poverty was highest among respondents in Mindanao at 60 percent (from 55 percent), followed by those in the Visayas at 44 percent (from 51 percent (both similar to the April 2025 survey).

The SWS survey had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.