SWS survey: Nearly half of Filipino families feel poor in Q3 of 2023

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly half or 48% of Filipino families rated themselves as poor during the third quarter of the year, up by about three points from the previous period, according to a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Conducted from September 28 to October 1, the survey estimates that around 13.2 million families consider themselves as poor — higher than the 12.5 million estimated in June 2023. 

The survey also found that 27% of families rated themselves as "borderline” or between the "poor" and "not poor" categories, which is a decrease of six points from the previous survey. Meanwhile, 25% of families rated themselves as "hindi mahirap" or "not poor," a three-point increase from June.

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.

SWS based its estimated number of self-rated poor families on the percentage of respondent households rating themselves as poor as applied to the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2023.

The most significant increase in self-rated poverty was among families in Mindanao, where the percentage of "poor" families surged from 54% in June to 71% in September.  

In Metro Manila and the Visayas, the rise was more moderate, from 35% to 38% and 57% to 59%, respectively. In contrast, Balance Luzon experienced a decrease from 39% to 35%.

The "borderline" category increased in Metro Manila and the Visayas, from 23% to 29% and 28% to 32%, respectively. However, it declined in Balance Luzon from 38% to 25% and in Mindanao from 33% to 25%.

The "not poor" category rose in Balance Luzon from 23% to 40%, but it decreased in Metro Manila (42% to 33%), Mindanao (13% to 4%), and the Visayas (15% to 8%).

Meanwhile, those who self-rated themselves as poor based on the type of food eaten by their families remained at 34% overall in September 2023. Around 31% rated themselves not food-poor (up from 26%) while 35% placed themselves on the borderline.

Based on these figures, SWS estimated the number of self-rated food-poor families at 9.2 million in the third quarter of the year.

The SWS survey also revealed the Self-Rated Poverty Threshold, or the minimum monthly budget that