SWS: 38% of Filipinos see quality of life to improve in next 12 months

Thirty-eight percent of Filipinos aged 18 years and above believe that their quality of life will improve in the next 12 months, the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The poll termed as "optimists" the 38% of respondents expecting improvements in the coming months. As for the other groups, 32% said their quality of life will stay the same, and 16% or the "pessimists" think their quality of life will worsen. Meanwhile, 14% did not respond.

This resulted in a net personal optimism of +23 (% optimists minus % pessimists), classified by SWS as "high." This is 13 points down from the "very high" +36 in November 2025, the SWS said.

"The 13-point decline in the national Net Personal Optimism score between November 2025 and March 2026 was due to decreases in all areas except in the Visayas," the polling firm explained.

The net personal optimism declined from "excellent" +40 to "high" +22. In Metro Manila, it also went down from "very high" +36 to "high" +28. It also slid from "very high" +35 to "high" +20 in Mindanao.

But the net personal optimism in the Visayas stayed "high," although it saw a slight decline from +29 to +27.

The non-commissioned survey, conducted from March 24 to 31, interviewed 1,500 adults face-to-face: 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao, and 600 in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila).

The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages, ±6% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao, and ±4% for Balance Luzon.

An earlier SWS survey showed that 50% of Filipino adults believe their lives got worse in the last 12 months, while over a quarter or 26% feel things stayed the same. — VDV, GMA News