Poverty in the Philippines

How bad is Poverty in the Philippines?

Many people say that the numbers of people in Poverty in the Philippines is not much different to other countries, and in some easy that is correct, when using the normal definitions of Poverty.

However, it isn’t as simple as that, and we need to clarify what we mean by Poverty.

There are two distinct Poverty marker levels. Normal Poverty and Extreme Poverty.

Every country has a certain percentage of the population in ‘Normal Poverty’ as this is defined as the number who have an income of less than a certain percentage of the median Income.

Not every country has people in Extreme Poverty, as this is calculated based on a subsistence level, and some countries have a benefits scheme to keep its population above subsistence.

Subsistence level, Extreme poverty, or absolute poverty, was originally defined as “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.

2014 Philippine Poverty Statistics

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released its latest report on Mar 6, 2015, on the country’s official poverty statistics for the first semester of 2014.

The new figures show that 25.8% of the population are classed as being in Poverty. This is up from 24.6% in the first Semester of 2013.
This is based on per Capita Poverty Threshold of 10,534 PhP

The figures for the Subsistence Incidence show that 10.5% of the Philippine population are below the Subsistence level.
Subsistence incidence among Filipinos is often referred to as the proportion of Filipinos in extreme or subsistence poverty.

Poverty incidence
At 90% level of confidence, the true estimate of the poverty incidence among Filipinos lies between 24.1 and 27.4%
At 90% level of confidence, the true estimate of the poverty incidence among families lies between 18.6 and 21.3%

Subsistence incidence
At 90% level of confidence, the true estimate of the subsistence incidence among Filipinos lies between 9.4 and 11.6%
At 90% level of confidence, the true estimate of the subsistence incidence among families lies between 6.7 and 8.4%

These figures are from: www.nscb.gov.ph/poverty

Previous Official figures from the Philippines National Statistics Office have stated the following:

Annual Poverty Threshold:

2012: The Philippines Poverty Threshold was 18,935 pesos

In Metro Manila (NCR) the Poverty Threshold was 20,344 pesos
In Cebu (Region 7), the Poverty Threshold was 18,767 pesos

Figures from: www.nscb.gov.ph

I am assuming that these are figures per household, as they are nearly double the 2014 Individuals

Philippine Poverty Threshold 2006, 2009, 2012

www.nscb.gov.ph/poverty/2012/highlights_fullyear.asp