Metro Manila, Philippines – Lives have generally improved for 6.5 million people between 2023 and 2025, according to the latest poverty data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
This brought the poverty incidence to a historic low of 9.7 percent in 2025, achieving the single-digit target under the Philippine Development Plan three years ahead of schedule, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said on Friday, Aug. 21..
Fewer than one in 10 people was living below the poverty line, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
Balisacan said targeted assistance and programs helped narrow income gaps.
“Reaching this milestone ahead of schedule demonstrates that expanding economic opportunities, complemented by effective social protection, can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” he said.
The PSA also noted that nominal incomes spiked by around 22 percent across income deciles between 2023 and 2025, exceeding the cumulative inflation rate of 5 percent over the same period.
The World Bank early this month reclassified the Philippines as a middle-income economy after two decades.
It noted, though, that “sustaining and deepening that achievement will require the right reforms to navigate current headwinds, unlock stronger, more inclusive growth and better jobs, and continue reducing poverty and inequality.”
In particular, the Washington-based lender said to sustain the progress, the country must, among others, “protect the most vulnerable by expanding targeted social assistance, including temporarily broadening the 4Ps conditional cash transfer program to near-poor households. This will help prevent the energy price shock from pushing approximately 2 million Filipinos into poverty.”
