SWS: 1 of 5 Filipino families suffered from hunger in April 2025

Metro Manila, Philippines - One in every five Filipino families suffered from involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, an April 2025 survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found.

The pollster said a flat 20% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger, which refers to “being hungry and not having anything to eat.”

The survey was conducted from April 23 to 28 among 1,500 respondents via face-to-face interviews.

“This is similar to the 19.1% in the April 11 to 15, 2025 survey, following a 8.1-point decline from 27.2% in March 2025,” said the SWS.

The pollster said total hunger — the sum of data on moderate and severe hunger — fell to 28.4% from 35.7% in December 2024.

However, the agency said that hunger remained most prevalent among food-poor families across income groups.

Among self-rated poor families, total hunger rose slightly to 25.9% in April from 24.4% two weeks earlier.

For non-poor families, the rate went up from 13.4% to 14.1%.

“Hunger occurs at different rates among the poor and the non-poor,” the SWS said. “At any single point in time, hunger is usually higher among the poor.”