The Philippines lifted 6.5 million Filipinos out of poverty in just two years, pushing the national poverty rate down to a record-low 9.7 percent in 2025 and allowing the government to hit its single-digit target three years ahead of schedule.
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, said the number of Filipinos living below the poverty threshold fell to 11 million in 2025 from 17.5 million in 2023.
“For the first time, fewer than one in ten Filipinos is living below the poverty line,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
The sharp decline came as households benefited from higher incomes, steady economic growth, easing inflation, and favorable labor market conditions.
Real gross domestic product grew by an average 5.1 percent in 2024 and 2025, while inflation averaged 2.5 percent and unemployment stood at 4 percent.
Nominal incomes across income groups increased by about 22 percent between 2023 and 2025, significantly faster than the 5 percent cumulative increase in prices. DEPDev said this suggests that income gains were broadly shared across the population.
Government social protection and livelihood programs also helped households translate those gains into improved living conditions.
Among the programs cited were the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Social Pension Program, KADIWA, Walang Gutom, TUPAD, and DILEEP.
But while the latest figures mark a major milestone, DEPDev cautioned that keeping the momentum will be more difficult as the economy faces a potentially tougher environment in 2026.
Balisacan said the government must focus on accelerating economic recovery, attracting investments, raising productivity, creating better-paying jobs, and upgrading workers’ skills.
The challenge, he said, is no longer simply getting families above the poverty line, but keeping them there.
“As we enter the final years of the administration, our priority is to ensure that families who have moved out of poverty do not fall back into it,” Balisacan said.
The 2025 results give the government an early win on its poverty-reduction target, but sustaining that progress will depend on whether economic growth can continue translating into higher and more secure household incomes.
