Are you poor, middle class, or rich? Here's how much Filipino income groups are earning

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Source: Are you poor, middle class, or rich? Here's how much Filipino income groups are earning
Story by: Nick Garcia

Filipinos often brand themselves as either rich or poor, with others thinking they belong somewhere in between.

But how does one exactly determine that? PhilSTAR L!fe reached out to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the country’s primary socioeconomic policy think tank, to know the latest data on who’s who.

Citing the Philippine Statistics Authority's family income and expenditure survey (FIES) conducted in 2021, the PIDS said there are seven income groups in the Philippines:

  • poor: with per capita incomes less than the official poverty threshold
  • low (but not poor): with per capita incomes between the poverty line and twice the poverty line
  • lower middle: with per capita incomes between twice the poverty line and four times the poverty line
  • middle middle: with per capita incomes between four times the poverty line and seven times the poverty line
  • upper middle: with per capita incomes between seven times the povery line and 12 times the poverty line
  • upper middle (but not rich): with per capita incomes between 12 times the poverty line and 20 times the poverty line
  • rich: with per capita incomes at least equal to 20 times the poverty line

Here's how much each income class in the Philippines is earning, according to the latest figures provided by PIDS.

The latest data on income groups from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies JB Robiso © Provided by PhilSTAR Life

The survey, which covers over 26.3 million households representing 111.4 million persons, showed that low income but not poor families comprise most of the Filipino population, while the rich comprise least of the population.

The PSA has been conducting the FIES every three years since 1985. The latest study's first visit was conducted from July 8 to 31, 2023, while the second visit runs from Jan. 8 to 31 this year.

According to the latest survey released by the Social Weather Stations on Jan. 17, around 13 million Pinoy households (47%) saw themselves as poor in the last quarter of 2023. Those who felt they were in the middle of poor and low income (but not poor) categories were 33%, while those who identified themselves as the latter were 20%. 

Research shows that unemployment rate is one of the "significant determinants" of poverty.

The Presidential Communications Office reported on Jan. 9 that the Philippine Statistics Authority saw a drop in the unemployment rate of the country from 4.2% to 3.6%, translating to 1.83 million unemployed persons. Per the PCO, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan stressed the need to make the digital economy bigger, including the digitalization of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, "to address the declining labor force and increase labor market gains in 2024 and beyond."

This article Are you poor, middle class, or rich? Here's how much Filipino income groups are earning was originally published in PhilSTAR L!fe

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