SWS: Hunger among PH families up slightly to 20% in end-April 2025
The latest figure was seen by SWS in its first quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey conducted from April 23 to 28, 2025.
The polling firm defines involuntary hunger as "being hungry and not having anything to eat – at least once in the past three months."
The latest hunger rate was slightly higher than the 19.1% seen in the previous April 11 to 15, 2025 survey, following an 8.1-point decline from 27.2% in March 2025.
The first quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults, 18-year-olds and above, nationwide: 600 in Balance Luzon (or areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila), and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages, ±4% in Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
The area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) medium-population projections for 2025 to obtain the national estimates, according to SWS.
Survey questions
The exact phrasing of the survey questions in Filipino were as follows:
On hunger: "Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nangyari po ba kahit minsan na ang inyong pamilya ay nakaranas ng gutom at wala kayong makain?" (OO, HINDI)
(In the last three months, did it happen even once that your family experienced hunger and did not have anything to eat? (YES, NO))
If experienced hunger: "Nangyari po ba 'yan ng MINSAN LAMANG, MGA ILANG BESES, MADALAS, o PALAGI?
(Did it happen ONLY ONCE, A FEW TIMES, OFTEN, or ALWAYS?)"
Moderate, severe hunger
SWS explained that the 20% hunger rate during the latest survey period is the sum of 16.4% who experienced "moderate hunger" and 3.6% who experienced "severe hunger."
Moderate hunger refers to those who experienced hunger "only once" or "a few times" in the last three months.
On the other hand, severe hunger refers to those who experienced it "often" or "always" in the previous three months.
SWS also found that hunger was highest in Mindanao at 26.3% of families, followed by Metro Manila at 20.3%, the Visayas at 19.7%, and Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) at 17%
Compared to the April 11 to 15, 2025 survey, the incidence of hunger fell by 5.7 points from 26% in Metro Manila, and by 3.5 points from 20.5% in Balance Luzon.
However, it rose by 9.0 points from 17.3% in Mindanao, and by 5.4 points from 14.3% in the Visayas. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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