SWS: 35% of Filipinos Say Quality-of-life Better

By Social Weather Station

• 35% got better off, 23% got worse off, and 42% stayed the same in the past 12 months

The Social Weather Survey of June 25-29, 2025, the most recent quarterly national survey finalized by SWS, found 35% of Filipino adults saying their quality-of-life was better than twelve months before (termed by SWS as “Gainers”), 23% saying it got worse (“Losers”), and 42% saying it was the same (“Unchanged”), compared to a year ago.

This gives a Net Gainers score of +12 (% Gainers minus % Losers), classified by SWS as very high[1] (+10 to +19), the highest since +13 in December 2024. This is 7 points above the high +5 in April 23-28, 2025, following a recovery from fair -1 in April 11-15, 2025 [Charts 1 and 2, Table 1].

The survey question regarding the respondents’ assessment of their change in quality of life over the past 12 months has been asked 162 times since April 1983. The Net Gainers score was generally negative until 2015, when it rose to positive numbers, only to decline sharply with onset of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It recovered to near-pre-pandemic levels in June 2023 and from June 2024 to December 2024, but fell to single-digit levels from January 2025 to April 2025 before bouncing to double-digit levels in June 2025.

Net Gainers rises in all areas except in Balance Luzon

The June 2025 survey found the Net Gainers score highest in the Visayas at excellent +22, followed by Mindanao at very high +16, Metro Manila at very high +10, and Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) at high +6 [Chart 3, Table 2].

The 7-point rise in the nationwide Net Gainers score from April 23-28, 2025 to June 25-29, 2025 was due to increases in all areas except in Balance Luzon.

Compared to April 23-28, 2025, Net Gainers rose from fair to excellent in the Visayas, up by 22 points from net zero.

It rose from fair to very high in Mindanao, up by 19 points from -3, and in Metro Manila, up by 11 points from -1.

However, it fell from very high to high in Balance Luzon, down by 6 points from +12.

Net Gainers up in both urban and rural areas

Compared to April 23-28, 2025, Net Gainers rose from high to very high in urban areas, up by 8 points from +2 to +10, and in rural areas, up by 7 points from +7 to +14 [Table 3].

Net Gainers up among both women and men

Net Gainers rose from high to very high among women, up by 8 points from +7 in April 23-28, 2025 to +15 in June 25-29, 2025. It stayed high among men, although up by 7 points from +2 to +9.

Net Gainers rises among those 50 years old and above

Net Gainers tends to decline with age: as of June 2025, it was highest among 18-24-year-olds at excellent +39, followed by 25-34-year-olds at excellent +20, 35-44-year-olds at high +9, 45-54-year-olds at high +4, and those 55 years and older at high +4.

Compared to April 23-28, 2025, Net Gainers stayed excellent among 18-24-year-olds, hardly moving from +40 to +39.

It rose from very high to excellent among 25-34-year-olds, up by 4 points from +16 to +20.

It stayed high among 35-44-year-olds, although up from +6 to +9, and among 45-54-year-olds, up from +1 to +4.

It rose sharply from mediocre to high among those 50 years old and above, up by 21 points from -17 to +4.

Net Gainers rises among non-elementary graduates and elementary graduates

Compared to April 23-28, 2025, Net Gainers rose from fair to very high among non-elementary graduates, up by 21 points from -8 to +13, and among elementary graduates, up by 18 points from -6 to +12 [Chart 4, Table 4].

It rose from fair to high among junior high school graduates, up by 5 points from net zero to +5.

It stayed very high among college graduates, up slightly from +10 to +13.

However, it declined from excellent to very high among those with some senior high school, down by 7 points from +26 to +19.

SWS classifications

The following are the classifications of Net Gainers scores: The grade “Excellent” is applied to scores at +20 and above; “Very High” to scores between +10 and +19; “High” to scores between +1 and +9; “Fair” to scores between –9 and zero; “Mediocre” to scores between –19 and –10; “Low” to scores between –29 and –20; “Very Low” to scores between –39 and –30; “Extremely Low” to scores at –49 to –40; and “Catastrophic” to scores –50 and below. (Up to December 2019, “Very Low” was the bottom-most category and was applied to scores –30 and below. In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, new negative categories were delineated. In May 2020, the grade “Extremely Low” was added and applied to scores –40 and below; and in August 2020, the grade of “Catastrophic” was added for those scores below –50.)

The historical distribution of Net Gainers scores by grade is summarized in the table below: 

Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents

Applying census weights and correctly rounded, 13% of the respondents are from Metro Manila, 45% from Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), 19% from the Visayas, and 23% from Mindanao [Table 5].

Fifty percent are from urban areas, and 50% are from rural areas.

Male and female respondents have a 1-to-1 ratio and, thus, are alternately sampled.

By age group, 12% are youth (18-24), 19% are intermediate youth (25-34), 20% are middle-aged (35-44), 19% are 45 to 54 years old, and 30% are 55 years old and above.

By education, 12% had at most some elementary education, 27% either finished elementary or had some high school education, 28% either finished junior high school or completed vocational school, 21% either had some senior high school or attended some college, and 13% either graduated from college or took post-graduate studies.

Survey background

The Second Quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey was conducted from June 25-29, 2025, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), the Visayas, and Mindanao. The sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2025 to obtain the national estimates.

The SWS survey question on change in personal quality-of-life from last year to the present are directed to the probability respondent. This item is non-commissioned and is included on SWS’s initiative and released as a public service.

The exact phrasing of the survey questions (the source language is Filipino; English translation included) was:

“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? [Comparing your quality of life these days to how it was 12 months ago, would you say that your quality of life is BETTER NOW THAN BEFORE, SAME AS BEFORE, or WORSE NOW THAN BEFORE?]”

SWS employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data processing, and analysis, and does not outsource any of its survey operations. This report was prepared by Leo S. Laroza.

[1] The SWS terminology for Net Gainers scores: +20 and above, “Excellent”; +10 to +19, “Very high”; + 1 to + 9, “High”; – 9 to zero, “Fair”; –19 to –10, “Mediocre”; –29 to –20, “Low”; –39 to –30, “Very Low”; –49 to –40, “Extremely Low”; and –50 and below, “Catastrophic”.

Chart 1

Chart 2

Chart 3

Chart 4

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5