SWS: Self-rated poverty slightly rises in March

The percentage of Filipino families who consider themselves “mahirap” or poor slightly increased to 52 percent in March, equivalent to around 14.4 million households, based on the Stratbase-Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from March 15 to 20.

- By ELLALYN DE VERA RUIZ

This figure was up from 51 percent (14.3 million families) in February 2025, following a decline from 63 percent in December 2024 to 50 percent in January 2025.

The March survey also found that 12 percent of families rated themselves as “borderline,” placing themselves on a line dividing poor and not poor, while 36 percent rated themselves as “hindi mahirap” or not poor.

SWS noted that the one-point increase in self-rated poverty from February to March was due to slight increases in the Visayas and Balance Luzon—or Luzon outside Metro Manila—combined with slight decreases in Mindanao and Metro Manila.