While millions dream of tropical paradise, the stark reality for nearly 20 million Filipinos in 2021 was a daily battle for survival, where over half a family's meager budget went just to put food on the table.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, the poverty incidence among the Filipino population was 18.1 percent, affecting 19.99 million Filipinos, a decrease from 23.7 percent in 2018 which affected 26.14 million.
- The poverty threshold for a family of five in the Philippines in 2021 was PHP 10,727 per month nationally, up from PHP 9,515 in 2018.
- Subsistence incidence among the population in 2021 was 5.8 percent, affecting 6.35 million Filipinos, compared to 8.7 percent in 2018.
- NCR had the lowest poverty incidence at 9.3 percent in 2021 among regions.
- Bicol Region recorded the highest poverty incidence at 27.3 percent in 2021.
- In BARMM, poverty incidence was 20.2 percent in 2021, affecting a significant population.
- Households in the poorest quintile had average monthly income of PHP 6,806 in 2021.
- Average family size among poor families was 4.9 members in 2021.
- 42.5 percent of poor families were in large families (6+ members) in 2021.
- Child poverty rate (ages 0-17) was 20.9 percent in 2021.
- 25.6 percent of children under 5 lived in poor households in 2021.
- Poverty incidence among 18-24 year olds was 19.5 percent in 2021.
- The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) covered 4.3 million poor households with children in 2022.
- 4Ps reduced poverty incidence by 1.5 percentage points among beneficiaries from 2015-2021.
- Sustainable Livelihood Program assisted 1.2 million poor households by 2023.
Philippines poverty is decreasing but remains high, especially in rural regions.
Child and Youth Poverty
- Child poverty rate (ages 0-17) was 20.9 percent in 2021.
- 25.6 percent of children under 5 lived in poor households in 2021.
- Poverty incidence among 18-24 year olds was 19.5 percent in 2021.
- In rural areas, child poverty reached 28.4 percent for ages 0-17 in 2021.
- 1.9 million children were subsistence poor in 2021.
- Youth (15-24) poverty incidence was higher at 21.2 percent in BARMM in 2021.
- Malnutrition among poor children affected 13.6 percent under 5 in poor families.
- School dropout rates among poor youth were 7.8 percent higher than non-poor.
- 22.1 percent of children in fisherfolk families were poor in 2021.
- Adolescent poverty (10-19) incidence was 19.8 percent nationally in 2021.
- In 2018, 5.2 million children lived below poverty line.
- Poor children had 45 percent less access to healthcare in 2021.
Child and Youth Poverty Interpretation
Every age and region tells the same grim story—from infancy to adolescence, and from coastal villages to urban margins, the nation's future is being starved, stunted, and sidelined by poverty.
Government Interventions and Outcomes
- The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) covered 4.3 million poor households with children in 2022.
- 4Ps reduced poverty incidence by 1.5 percentage points among beneficiaries from 2015-2021.
- Sustainable Livelihood Program assisted 1.2 million poor households by 2023.
- Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) provided PHP 5,000 to 2.3 million farmers in 2023.
- Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program aided 19 million low-income families during COVID-19.
- National Housing Authority built 50,000 units for informal settler families from 2016-2022.
- PhilHealth coverage reached 93 percent of poor population by 2023.
- Conditional Cash Transfer under 4Ps improved school attendance by 10 percent for grantees.
- Zero Interest Loan program for farmers benefited 800,000 poor agrarian reform beneficiaries.
- Social Pension for Indigent Seniors covered 3.2 million elderly poor in 2023.
- Poverty reduction target under PDP 2023-2028 aims for single-digit poverty by 2028.
- Kadiwa ng Pangulo program served 1.5 million poor families with affordable food in 2023.
- TUPAD program provided emergency employment to 2.7 million poor workers in 2022.
- World Bank projects poverty to fall to 13.6 percent by 2026 under current trends.
- ADB estimates that COVID-19 pushed 2.7 million Filipinos into poverty in 2020.
Government Interventions and Outcomes Interpretation
This data paints a picture of a nation stubbornly building a scaffold of aid against poverty—one cash transfer, health card, and bag of affordable rice at a time—proving that while lifting millions is a grinding, piecemeal effort, refusing to stop trying is the first, non-negotiable step.
Household and Family Metrics
- Households in the poorest quintile had average monthly income of PHP 6,806 in 2021.
- Average family size among poor families was 4.9 members in 2021.
- 42.5 percent of poor families were in large families (6+ members) in 2021.
- Single-member households had poverty incidence of 12.3 percent in 2021.
- Poor households derived 55.2 percent of income from employment in 2021.
- Average monthly gross receipts per family was PHP 19,599 in 2021.
- 28.4 percent of poor families had at least one OFW member in 2021.
- Subsistence poor families numbered 1.22 million in 2021.
- Non-poor families had average income of PHP 28,974 monthly in 2021.
- 18.2 percent of households with 5 members were poor in 2021.
- Poor families spent 62.1 percent of budget on food in 2021.
- In 2018, poor households averaged 5.3 members.
Household and Family Metrics Interpretation
While the dream of a thriving family is alive, the cruel math of poverty shows it's far more likely to become a crowded table where more mouths to feed on a single, meager salary turns a tight budget into an impossible one.
National Level Statistics
- In 2021, the poverty incidence among the Filipino population was 18.1 percent, affecting 19.99 million Filipinos, a decrease from 23.7 percent in 2018 which affected 26.14 million.
- The poverty threshold for a family of five in the Philippines in 2021 was PHP 10,727 per month nationally, up from PHP 9,515 in 2018.
- Subsistence incidence among the population in 2021 was 5.8 percent, affecting 6.35 million Filipinos, compared to 8.7 percent in 2018.
- In 2021, the average monthly income required to meet basic food needs for a family of five was PHP 4,990 nationally.
- Poverty incidence among families in 2021 was 15.5 percent, impacting 4.19 million families, down from 17.2 percent in 2018.
- The Gini coefficient for the Philippines in 2021 was 0.4051, indicating moderate income inequality.
- In 2023, poverty incidence was estimated at 17.3 percent for the first semester, based on preliminary data.
- Food threshold for a family of five in 2023 first semester was PHP 5,099 nationally.
- In 2018, 21.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line for the full year.
- Annual poverty threshold per capita in 2018 was PHP 10,727 for the whole year.
- In 2021, 22.7 percent of children aged 0-17 were multidimensionally poor according to MPI.
- Multidimensional poverty affected 16.7 percent of the population in 2017 OPHI data.
- 8.9 percent of Filipinos faced severe multidimensional poverty in 2022 estimates.
- MPI intensity for poor households was 45.2 percent in Philippines 2017.
- Access to clean water deprivation affected 12.4 percent of poor population.
- 31.5 percent of poor experienced housing deprivation in 2021.
- Education attainment deprivation hit 18.7 percent among poor.
- Health insurance deprivation was 22.1 percent for poor households.
- Sanitation deprivation affected 9.6 percent of the poor in rural areas.
- MPI headcount for BARMM was 39.2 percent in 2017.
- NCR had MPI of 4.5 percent, lowest in the country.
- SOCCSKSARGEN MPI was 24.8 percent.
- Bicol MPI stood at 28.7 percent in recent data.
- Eastern Visayas had 27.1 percent multidimensional poverty.
- 15.3 percent of urban poor were multidimensionally deprived.
- Rural MPI was 25.6 percent compared to urban 9.2 percent.
- Child MPI in Philippines affected 27.4 percent of kids.
National Level Statistics Interpretation
Despite a heartening drop in headcount, the relentless march of inflation means that for millions of Filipino families, the finish line for escaping poverty keeps being moved further down the track just as they near it.
Regional Variations
- NCR had the lowest poverty incidence at 9.3 percent in 2021 among regions.
- Bicol Region recorded the highest poverty incidence at 27.3 percent in 2021.
- In BARMM, poverty incidence was 20.2 percent in 2021, affecting a significant population.
- CALABARZON's poverty incidence dropped to 11.8 percent in 2021 from 13.6 percent in 2018.
- MIMAROPA had a poverty rate of 22.4 percent in 2021, one of the higher ones.
- In 2023 first semester, SOCCSKSARGEN had 22.9 percent poverty incidence.
- Eastern Visayas poverty incidence was 24.9 percent in 2021.
- CARAGA region saw 25.6 percent poverty incidence in 2021.
- Ilocos Region had 15.7 percent poverty incidence in 2021.
- Western Visayas recorded 17.8 percent in 2021.
- Rural areas had 25.3 percent poverty incidence in 2021, compared to 12.7 percent in urban areas.
- In 2018, Bangsamoro areas had subsistence incidence of 10.9 percent.
- Cagayan Valley's poverty threshold for family of five was PHP 11,234 in 2021.
- Central Luzon had the lowest family poverty incidence at 9.0 percent in 2021.
- Davao Region poverty incidence was 19.0 percent in 2021.
Regional Variations Interpretation
The map of Philippine prosperity is a stark patchwork quilt where a family's survival hinges on the lottery of their postal code, stitching together pockets of relative comfort in Metro Manila with the threadbare realities of regions like Bicol where poverty's grip is nearly three times as tight.
Sources & References
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- Reference 6DAda.gov.phVisit source
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- Reference 8NHAnha.gov.phVisit source
- Reference 9PHILHEALTHphilhealth.gov.phVisit source
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