MANILA, Philippines — Fewer Filipinos said their quality of life improved over the past 12 months, but there were still more gainers than losers, according to the latest survey of local pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS).

According to the survey, commissioned by the Stratbase Group and conducted from Jan. 17 to Jan. 20, 32 percent of respondents said their quality of life improved (“gainers”), a slight decrease from the 36 percent who said the same in December 2024.

Those who said it worsened (“losers”) increased to 25 percent from the 23 percent who said the same in December 2024.

Meanwhile, 43 percent said their lives stayed the same (“unchanged”) in January 2025.

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SWS said this yields a net gainers score (gainers minus losers) of +7, which the pollster classified as “high,” down six points from the “very high” +13 in December 2024 and September 2024.

The net gainers score is highest in Luzon outside Metro Manila at “very high” +13, hardly moving from +14. Metro Manila had the second highest net gainers score at “high” +9, down by six points from +15.

The survey used in-person interviews among 1,800 validated voters with 11 percent from Metro Manila, 45 percent from Balance Luzon (or areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila), 20 percent from the Visayas, and 24 percent from Mindanao.

Poll details

Fifty-two percent were from urban areas, and 48 percent from rural areas.

SWS said its sampling error of margin was plus-or-minus 2.31 percent for national percentages.

The pollster said the exact phrasing of the survey questions in Filipino (English translation included) was:

“Kung ikukumpara ang uri ng inyong kasalukuyang pamumuhay sa nakaraang 12 buwan, masasabi ba ninyo na ang uri ng inyong pamumuhay ay MAS MABUTI KAYSA NOON, KAPAREHO NG DATI, o MAS MASAMA KAYSA NOON? (Comparing your quality of life these days to how it was 12 months ago, would you say that your quality of life is BETTER NOW THAN BEFORE, SAME AS BEFORE, or WORSE NOW THAN BEFORE?)”

SWS said it has conducted 156 similar surveys of personal assessments of respondents’ quality of life since April 1983, under eight presidents.

Period of improvement

The pollster said the net gainers score was generally negative until 2015 when it rose to positive numbers until the sharp decline beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

According to data provided in the SWS website, the quality of life survey was worst in May 2020 when 83 percent said it was worse over 12 months.

There were 24 similar surveys conducted during the Duterte administration, 13 of them showed that more respondents felt their quality of life was worse than before.

It has since trended back upwards, but has not fully recovered to prepandemic levels.

Under the second Marcos administration, there have been 11 quality of life surveys since October 2022, when 0 gainers were reported.