SWS Survey Shows More Filipinos Feel Life Has Improved in 2024

According to a survey done by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) between June 23 and July 1, 2024, 39% of adult Filipinos said that their quality of life got better over the past year, while 23% felt their life got worse. The remaining 37% said their life stayed the same.

What Does “Net Gainers” Mean?

The term Net Gainers refers to the difference between those who feel their life improved (the “Gainers”) and those who feel their life worsened (the “Losers”).

In this survey, the Net Gainers score is +15 (39% minus 23%). SWS classifies this score as “very high” since it’s within the +10 to +19 range.

To compare, in the previous surveys conducted in March 2024 and December 2023, the Net Gainers score was lower, at +5, which is considered “fair.”

In simpler terms: more people are saying their life got better than those who say it got worse, and this is seen as a positive trend by SWS.

Gains Across the Philippines

The survey also broke down the results by different regions of the country. Here’s how it played out:

• Balance Luzon (Luzon outside Metro Manila) had the biggest improvement, with a score of +26, which SWS classifies as “excellent.”
• Metro Manila had a score of +16, which is also very high.
• Mindanao improved significantly from previous surveys and now has a score of +7 (classified as “high”).
• Visayas saw a slight improvement, with a score of +1 (also classified as “high”).

Education and Quality of Life

Interestingly, the survey also found that people’s education level played a role in how they felt about their life improvements:

• Those with a college education had the highest Net Gainers score, at +21, which is “excellent.”
• People who finished junior high school had a score of +19, also very high.
• Even those who completed only elementary education saw an increase, reaching +14, up from previous surveys.

The data shows that the more educated a person is, the more likely they are to report that their life has improved in the past year.

Hunger and Financial Status

The survey also looked at how hunger and poverty affected people’s views of their quality of life.

Families that did not experience hunger had a higher Net Gainers score of +18, compared to families that went hungry, whose score was +12. Meanwhile, families that experienced severe hunger had a much lower score of -17, meaning more people in this group felt their lives got worse.

When it comes to self-rated poverty (how people rate their own financial situation):

• Those who considered themselves Not Poor had the highest score, at +26.
• Those who said they were on the borderline between Poor and Not Poor had a score of +16.
• Poor families saw an improvement, too, but their score was lower at +9.

In short, people who are financially better off tend to feel their lives are improving more than those who feel they are struggling.

Things Are Looking Up for Many

Overall, the survey results show that many Filipinos feel their lives are improving, especially in Luzon and among the better-educated and better-off groups.

However, the results also highlight that those facing severe hunger and poverty continue to struggle, and their quality of life hasn’t improved as much.

What about you? Do you think your life has improved or gotten worse over the past year? Share your thoughts in the comments!

For the in-depth data check it here