Poverty is more than income as new PSA index reveals deeper struggles

Floyd Brenz., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
August 28, 2026

Photo Courtesy: Medium

The Philippines may be reporting a historic decline in income-based poverty, but a new measure from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that many Filipinos continue to face hardships beyond what their earnings can reveal.

The PSA’s Multidimensional Poverty Index looks at poverty through several aspects of daily life, including education, health, housing, basic services and employment, not just household income.

The latest measure found that 12.8 percent of Filipinos were multidimensionally poor in 2024, highlighting gaps that may remain hidden when poverty is measured solely by income.

The broader approach recognizes that a family can rise above the official poverty line while still struggling with inadequate housing, limited access to basic services, poor health or unstable employment.

The new index comes as the country celebrates a sharp drop in income-based poverty, with the poverty rate falling to 9.7 percent in 2025 from 15.5 percent in 2023.

The figures suggest that reducing poverty is not simply about raising household income, it is also about ensuring Filipinos have decent homes, quality education, healthcare, basic services and stable livelihoods.

In other words, escaping poverty on paper does not always mean escaping hardship in real life.