A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey reveals that 52% of Filipino families—approximately 14.5 million households—identify as “mahirap” or poor. The findings, released on May 7, indicate a slight uptick from the 51% recorded in November 2025.
The remaining respondents were divided between 13% who classified themselves as “borderline” and 35% who declared they were “hindi mahirap” or not poor.
The March 2026 data provided a deeper look into the nature of poverty in the Philippines:
- Always Poor: 35.5% (9.9 million families) have never experienced living above the poverty line.
- Usually Poor: 9.8% (2.7 million families) were non-poor five or more years ago.
- Newly Poor: 6.7% (1.9 million families) transitioned into poverty within the last four years.
Regional Breakdown and Shifts
Geographically, the Visayas reported the highest concentration of self-rated poverty at 66%, followed closely by Mindanao at 63%. Meanwhile, Balance Luzon and Metro Manila recorded lower rates at 44% and 42%, respectively.
Notably, poverty sentiment worsened significantly in the Visayas, jumping eight percentage points since late 2025, while Metro Manila saw a five-point increase. Conversely, the number of families identifying as “not poor” saw a decline across the capital, Mindanao, and the Visayas.
The Cost of Living
The survey established a national median Self-Rated Poverty Threshold—the minimum monthly budget a family needs to not consider themselves poor—at ₱15,000. While this figure remained steady, the “poverty gap,” or the amount poor families lack to reach that threshold, narrowed slightly from ₱6,000 to ₱5,000.
In Metro Manila, the financial bar remains higher, with the poverty threshold holding at ₱20,000 for the sixth straight quarter and a persistent monthly gap of ₱10,000.
The study was conducted from March 24 to 31, 2026, through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults across the country.