Poverty incidence drops to 15.5% 

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The percentage of Filipinos classified as “poor” declined in 2023 compared to two years ago, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The 2023 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics released yesterday showed  the poverty incidence among the population dropped to 15.5 percent from 18.1 percent in 2021.

This translates to a decrease of 2.45 million Filipinos living in poverty, to 17.54 million.

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In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the latest poverty incidence surpasses the government’s development target for poverty incidence in 2023, which was set at 16 to 16.4 percent in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

In terms of poverty incidence among families, the rate also declined to 10.9 percent in 2023 from 13.2 percent in 2021.

This corresponds to a decrease in the number of impoverished families from 3.5 million in 2021 to three million in 2023.

Poverty incidence is the proportion of Filipino families with incomes that are not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs as estimated by the poverty threshold.

“These encouraging figures underscore our unwavering commitment to implement effective policies and initiatives that uplift the lives of our countrymen. As we welcome news of our progress, we remain steadfast in our efforts to ensure that our economic gains are truly felt by all Filipinos, rich and poor alike,” NEDA secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

Meanwhile, the number of food-poor families, or those with incomes not sufficient to meet even the basic food needs, stood at 2.7 percent, or decreased to 740,000 in 2023 from 1.04 million families in 2021, marking a reduction of 300,000 families.

In terms of population, the number of food-poor individuals also saw a decline, dropping from 6.55 million in 2021 to 4.84 million in 2023, translating to around 4.3 percent living below the food thresholds.

According to the PSA, based on these preliminary poverty statistics, the poverty situation in the country has returned to its pre-pandemic level.

The PSA also said that the observed decline in poverty incidence from 2021 can be explained by the changes in the poverty threshold and income data from 2021 to 2023.

The poverty threshold, which is mainly affected by changes in the prices of food items in the food bundle, increased by 15.3 percent in 2023.

On the other hand, the mean per capita income, particularly of the second decile, or families near the poverty threshold, increased by 22.9 percent, which is higher than the increase in the poverty threshold.

“These resulted to the decreases in the poverty incidences among families at 2.3 percentage points and among population at 2.6 percentage points in 2023,” the PSA said.

The annual average per capita poverty threshold, which refers to the national average poverty threshold for one person in a year, stood at P33,296 in 2023. In 2021, it was P28,871.

Meanwhile, the annual average per capita food threshold, which refers to the national average food threshold for one person in a year, amounted to P22,995 in 2023 from P20,111 in 2021.

“High inflation during the first half of 2023 likely partially offset the positive effects of income growth on poverty reduction. The decline in poverty could have been sharper had inflation been more moderate. But what is perhaps most encouraging to see is that mean per capita incomes for the poorest Filipinos–those belonging to the bottom deciles–grew quite fast, faster than those in the top decile classes and faster than the rate at which the poverty threshold grew. In other words, economic growth was progressive,” the NEDA chief said.

“Having said that, the policy implications are clear: food security remains a top government priority. We know what we have to do to ensure that food is available, accessible, affordable, and nutritious. We must boost agricultural productivity; invest massively to improve our infrastructure and markets; effectively manage food prices through supply- and demand-side interventions; and strengthen targeted interventions to enhance health outcomes. At the same time, we continue to work on the creation of more and higher-quality jobs and human capital development to enhance Filipinos’ income-earning abilities.

We must also strengthen our social safety nets by harnessing digital technologies so that the poor and vulnerable are partially shielded from economic shocks,” he added.

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