The national Social Weather Survey of September 28-October 1, 2023, found that 9.8% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger – being hungry and not having anything to eat – at least once in the past three months.
The September 2023 Hunger figure was lower than the 10.4% in June 2023 and the same as the 9.8% in March 2023.
As of September 2023, the experience of hunger was highest in Metro Manila at 17.3%, followed by Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila) at 10.3%, the Visayas at 6.7%, and Mindanao at 6.7% of families.
The 0.6-point decline in Overall Hunger between June 2023 and September 2023 was due to declines in the Visayas and Balance Luzon, combined with a rise in Metro Manila and a steady score in Mindanao.
Compared to June 2023, the incidence of hunger fell by 2.6 points in the Visayas, from 9.3% to 6.7%.
It fell by 1.0 points in Balance Luzon, from 11.3% to 10.3%.
However, it rose by 1.6 points in Metro Manila, from 15.7% to 17.3%.
It hardly changed in Mindanao, moving from 6.3% to 6.7%.
The 9.8% Hunger rate in September 2023 was the sum of 8.4% who experienced Moderate Hunger and 1.3% who experienced Severe Hunger.
Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months. Meanwhile, Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the previous three months.
SWS: Hunger falls from 10.4% in June 2023 to 9.8% in September 2023
Compared to June 2023, Moderate Hunger hardly moved from 8.3%, while Severe Hunger fell slightly from 2.1%.
In Metro Manila, Moderate Hunger rose by 1.3 points from 12.0% in June 2023 to 13.3% in September 2023, while Severe Hunger hardly changed from 3.7% to 4.0%.
In Balance Luzon, Moderate Hunger rose by 0.7 points from 8.3% to 9.0%, while Severe Hunger fell by 1.7 points from 3.0% to 1.3%.
In the Visayas, Moderate Hunger fell by 2.6 points from 8.3% to 5.7%, while Severe Hunger stayed at 1.0%.
In Mindanao, Moderate Hunger rose by 0.7 points from 6.0% to 6.%, while Severe Hunger moved from 0.3% to 0%.
The September 2023 survey found 48% of Filipino families rating themselves as Mahirap or Poor, 27% rating themselves as Borderline.
On the other hand, based on the type of food eaten by their families, the September 2023 survey found 34% of families rating themselves as Food-Poor, 35% rating themselves as Food Borderline (by placing themselves on the horizontal line dividing Food-Poor and Not Food-Poor), and 31% rating themselves Not Food-Poor.
The rate of Overall Hunger (i.e., Moderate plus Severe) fell among the Self-Rated Poor, from 10.8% in June 2023 to 7.7% in September 2023, while it barely moved among the Non-Poor (Not Poor plus Borderline Poor) from 10.3% to 10.4%.
The rate of Overall Hunger also fell among the Self-Rated Food-Poor, from 9.4% to 7.0%, while it hardly changed among the Non-Food-Poor (Not Food-Poor plus Borderline Food-Poor) from 10.8% to 11.0%.
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