A national poll measuring how Filipinos feel about their own lives has recorded the bleakest result in the survey’s history — worse even than readings taken during the height of pandemic lockdowns.
The Social Weather Stations administered its Anamnestic Comparative Self-Assessment survey between November 24 and 30, 2025, asking respondents to weigh their recent two weeks against both the best and worst periods of their lives. Using an 11-point scale running from -5 to +5, participants placed the average at +1.72 — the lowest the indicator has ever reached. The previous floor was +1.97, recorded in May 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions kept much of the country at a standstill.
Geographic and educational divides showed up clearly in the data. Residents of Luzon outside Metro Manila reported the highest personal well-being scores, while Mindanao respondents averaged the lowest. Education level proved more consequential than either sex or age: college graduates rated their situations most favorably, while those who had not completed elementary schooling scored themselves least fulfilled.
Hunger was another fault line in the results. Some 20.1% of Filipino families reported going involuntarily hungry at least once in the three months leading up to the survey, and well-being scores were measurably lower among those households.
Despite the record-low average, the survey did not paint a uniformly grim picture. Roughly 73% of adult respondents still viewed their present circumstances positively, with about 25% rating their situation negatively and approximately 3% neutral. On happiness specifically, 33% described themselves as “very happy,” and 28% said they were “very satisfied.”
The shift from the December 2024 survey is nonetheless stark: at that point, 79% of respondents had rated their well-being positively, compared to the 73% recorded in November 2025.
The November sample drew from across the country — 13% Metro Manila, 45% the rest of Luzon, 19% Visayas, and 23% Mindanao — with equal urban and rural representation and a spread of age groups from 18 to 55 and above.
