More Filipinos feel their quality of life has improved compared to a year ago, but the overall optimism has slightly dipped, the latest nationwide survey from Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed.
According to the survey conducted from March 15 to 20, 31% of Filipino registered voters said their lives got better in the past 12 months, while 30% said their lives worsened. The remaining 38% said there was no change.
This results in a net gainers score of +1 (percentage of gainers minus losers), which the SWS still classifies as “high”—though it marks a decline from February’s +6. Net gainers scores ranging from +1 to +9 fall under the “high” category.
The respondents were asked: “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?”
While the latest score is still positive, it is notably the lowest since the “fair” -2 rating recorded in September 2023.
“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,” SWS noted.
“It has since trended back upwards to near-pre-pandemic levels in June 2023 and from June 2024 to December 2024, before it fell to single-digit levels from January 2025 to March 2025,” it added.
SWS also emphasized that this particular survey question has been asked 159 times since April 1983, making it one of their most consistent barometers of public sentiment.
The non-commissioned survey involved face-to-face interviews with 1,800 registered voters aged 18 and above across Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The margin of error is ±2.31% nationwide.
