47 percent of Filipino families felt poor in Q4 2023 – SWS survey

 (NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Around 13 million Filipino families rated themselves as “poor” in the fourth quarter of 2023, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed on Wednesday.

According to the SWS survey, 47 percent of Filipino families rated themselves as “poor”, 33 percent said that they were “borderline” or between poor and not poor, while 20 percent said that they were “not poor”.

Compared to the same survey conducted in September 2023, the number of “poor” families only had a one percent decrease, while “borderline” families increased from 6 percent, and “not poor” families decreased from by 5 percent, it said.

The number of self-rated “poor” families decreased in Mindanao, Metro Manila, and Visayas from the September 2023 survey, but it increased in Luzon or Balance Luzon.

Meanwhile, families who were “not poor” slightly increased in Metro Manila, and Mindanao, while decreases were reported in Visayas and Balance Luzon, the SWS said.

The SWS likewise reported that the annual average of self-rated “poor” families in 2023 was at 48 percent, the same as 2022.

Meanwhile, on economic status based on the type of food that they eat, 32 percent of families said that they were “food poor”, 41 percent said that they were “food borderline”, and 26 percent said that they were “not food poor”.

The SWS said that it conducted the survey on 1,200 adults, 300 individuals  each from Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, from December 8 to 11, 2023.

It also marked sampling error margins at ±2.8 percent for national percentages, and ±5.7% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao.