Hunger among Pinoy families slightly eased in Nov. 2025 —SWS survey

The number of Filipinos who said they experienced hunger in November 2025 dropped slightly compared to the September 2025 figures, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

The national survey found that 20.1% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger —being hungry and having nothing to eat —at least once in the past three months.

This is 1.9 points lower than the 22% in September 2025.  The hunger data was 16.1% in June 2025.

The Fourth Quarter 2025 survey was conducted from November 24 to 30, 2025, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), the Visayas, and Mindanao. The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

According to the survey, hunger fell in Balance Luzon and Metro Manila, but rose in Mindanao and the Visayas

The hunger experience became highest in Mindanao at 26.7%, followed by Metro Manila and the Visayas, both at 20.3%, and Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) at 16.7%.

"The 1.9-point decline in hunger between September 2025 and November 2025 was due to decreases in Balance Luzon and Metro Manila, combined with increases in Mindanao and the Visayas," SWS said.

The 20.1% hunger rate in November 2025 was the sum of 15.6% who experienced "moderate hunger" and 4.5% who experienced "severe hunger."

Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months. Meanwhile, severe hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the previous three months.

Food-poor

The November 2025 survey found 51% of Filipino families rating themselves as "mahirap or poor," 12% rating themselves as borderline (by placing themselves on a line dividing poor and not poor), and 37% rating themselves as "hindi mahirap or not poor." 

On Self-Rated Food Poverty, based on the type of food eaten by their families, SWS said the November 2025 survey found 40% of families rating themselves as food-poor, 11% rating themselves as food borderline (by placing themselves on the line dividing food-poor and not food-poor), and 49% rating themselves not food-poor.

"Hunger occurs at different rates among the Poor and the Non-Poor. At any single point in time, hunger is usually higher among the Poor. From quarter to quarter, however, the hunger rates among the poor and the non-poor may change, either upward or downward. Hunger is highest among the food-poor," SWS said.

"Compared to September 2025, the rate of total hunger (i.e., moderate plus severe) among the self-rated poor hardly changed from 26.9% to 27.0%. However, among the non-poor (not poor plus borderline poor), total hunger fell from 17.0% to 13.0%," it added.

The rate of total hunger also fell among the self-rated food-poor from 31.5% in September 2025 to 30.4% in November 2025, and among the non-food-poor from 15.3% to 13.4%, the survey firm also said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News