51% of Filipino families rate themselves poor –SWS survey

Many families in the country consider themselves poor, according to the most recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) last November 2025.

Data from the survey showed that a total of 51% Filipino families rated themselves as poor, which was one percentage point higher than the 50% rating in September 2025.

The number was equivalent to around 14.3 million families for the current survey, with majority or 65% being noted in Mindanao, followed by Balance Luzon at 45% and Metro Manila with 37%.

The current data places the national media Self-Rated Poverty Threshold (SRP Threshold) at P15,000, while the national median Self-Rated Poverty Gap (SRP Gap) is now at P6,000.

The survey also showed that 12% of the respondents said they were on the borderline between poor and not poor, while the rest of the 37% said they were not poor.

SWS also said that 6.5% of the families reporting themselves poor were “newly poor” and would not have considered themselves poor a few years ago.

Meanwhile, the self-rated food poverty fell by one percentage point from the previous survey.

According to the survey, 40% or 11.1 million Filipino families considered themselves as food-poor, while 11% said they were at the borderline, and 49% said they were not food-poor.

Majority of the respondents rating themselves food-poor are from Mindanao with 55%, followed by Visayas with 45% and Balance Luzon at 34%.

Monthly cost of living

For each Filipino family, SWS said that they spent at least P6,200 on average for family expenses, not including food.

The median for house rent was set at P3,000, while transportation was set at P2,000.

Internet bills were set at a P800 median, while mobile phone load expenses were at P400 monthly.

Data used in the survey was gathered through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents conducted nationwide between November 24 to 30, 2025.

The survey has a ±3% margin of error. —LDF, GMA Integrated News