Poverty rate declined across all regions in PH in 2025 — PSA

Poverty incidence across all 18 regions of the country declined in 2025, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The latest data was an update to the 2025 Official Poverty Statistics released last week.

It was earlier reported that the Philippines posted its "lowest-ever" poverty incidence rate at 9.7% in 2025, translating to 11.08 million Filipinos living below the poverty threshold of P14,634 monthly income for a typical family of five, down from 17.5 million in 2023.

This means that 6.5 million Filipinos were lifted out of poverty during the two-year period, according to the PSA.

Meanwhile, the latest poverty data also showed that "the 18 regions recorded statistically significant decreases in poverty incidence among families from 2023 to 2025."

The PSA said the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) showed the "most notable improvement" with its poverty rate dropping to 12.8% from 26%.

The National Capital Region (NCR), meanwhile, is least poor among all regions with poverty incidence among families 0.6% in 2025 from 1.1%.

Bicol Region recorded the highest poverty rate at 16.8%, from 20.3%.

The PSA noted that "there were no provinces with poverty incidence above 30%," in contrast with the situation seen in 2021 when the highest poverty rate among provinces ranged from 40% to less than 50%.

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) earlier said that from 2023 to 2025, economic opportunities expanded amid sustained GDP growth, moderating inflation, and generally favorable labor-market conditions.

It said that during 2024 and 2025, the real GDP growth rate averaged 5.1%, while inflation averaged 2.5%.

Development think tank IBON Foundation, however, criticized the government's latest poverty data, saying official figures underestimate the actual number of poor Filipinos. — VDV, GMA News