Hunger rate among Filipinos decreases in second quarter— SWS

Lesser Filipinos experienced involuntary hunger in the second quarter of the year, according to the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on August 16.

The nationwide poll, conducted from June 25 to 29, showed that 16.1 percent of respondents went hungry and had nothing to eat at least once in the past three months.

This was lower than the 20 percent recorded in April and the 27.2 percent posted in March.

So far, the average hunger rate for 2025 stands at 19.9 percent, slightly below the 20.2 percent annual average in 2024.

SWS said the June figure consisted of 12.8 percent who experienced “Moderate Hunger”—those who went hungry “only once” or “a few times” in the last three months—and 3.3 percent who experienced 

“Severe Hunger,” or those who went hungry “often” or “always.”

From the April 23–28 survey, Moderate Hunger dropped from 16.4 percent to 12.8 percent, while 

Severe Hunger dipped from 3.6 percent to 3.3 percent.

Across regions, Severe Hunger decreased in Mindanao from five percent to 2.7 percent, in Metro Manila from six percent to 5.7 percent, and in Luzon outside Metro Manila from 3.1 percent to 2.3 percent. The Visayas, however, recorded an increase from 1.4 percent to 4.7 percent.

Hunger incidence declined in both groups, with the Self-Rated Poor dropping from 25.9 percent in April to 21 percent in June and the Non-Poor—from Not Poor to Borderline Poor—falling from 14.1 percent to 11.4 percent.

For those who considered themselves Self-Rated Food-Poor, hunger went down from 28.4 percent to 21.3 percent. 

In contrast, the Non-Food-Poor group, which includes those who identify as Not Food-Poor or Borderline Food-Poor, saw hunger fall from 14.1 percent to 12.4 percent.

SWS noted that hunger is generally higher among the Poor, but the gap between income groups may vary each quarter. Hunger remains most prevalent among those who classify themselves as food-poor.

The June survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults. 

It has a sampling error margin of plus-or-minus three percentage points for national results and plus-or-minus six percentage points each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.