SWS: 58 percent of Filipino families rate themselves poor in Q2 survey

SWS logo / Reuters photo

MANILA, Philippines — The number of families who felt poor in June 2024 rose by more than 10 percent from March 2024, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said.

According to its survey released on Thursday, 58 percent of families said that they were poor, 30 percent said that they were not poor, and 12 percent said that they were borderline.

The latest survey result is an increase from the 46 percent of families who thought themselves poor in March 2024, the SWS said.

In addition, the SWS estimated that the 58 percent for June 2024 translated to around 16 million families, compared to the 12.9 million families in March 2024.

The survey also showed that self-rated poverty in March 2024 rose in all island groups: from 33 percent to 39 percent in Metro Manila; from 38 percent to 52 percent in Balance Luzon, or Luzon outside Metro Manila; from 64 percent to 67 percent in the Visayas; and from 56 percent to 71 percent in Mindanao

Forty-six percent of families also thought themselves poor based on the food they consumed in June 2024, followed by 39 percent who said they were not food-poor, while 15 percent said they were borderline.

Food-poor families were estimated to be at 12.8 million in June 2024, the SWS added.

SWS conducted the latest survey from June 23 to July 1 among 1,500 adults — 600 in Balance Luzon and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The SWS added that sampling error margins were marked at ± 2.5 percent for national percentages, ± 4.0 percent for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7 percent each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.