SWS Q1 poll: 44% of Pinoys say quality of life to improve in next 12 months

Forty-four percent of Filipinos believe the quality of their lives will improve in the next 12 months, a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) for the first quarter of 2024 showed. The SWS identified these respondents as optimists.

The poll, conducted last March 21-25, 2024, showed that another 44% see their quality of life remaining the same in the next 12 months, while 7% said such will worsen during the same period (pessimists). Six percent of the respondents did not give an answer

This resulted in a net personal optimism score of +37 (% optimists minus % pessimists), classified by SWS as "very high".

The +37 net personal optimism score of Filipinos at the end of the first quarter is a two-point decline from the +39 in December 2023.

The slight dip in the net personal optimism score is largely due to Mindanao's net optimism in March 2024 nosediving to +43 from +32 in December 2023.

The net personal optimism in Metro Manila (+42 from +47) and Visayas also dropped (+24 from +27).

Balance Luzon was the lone gainer with its net personal optimism score reaching +44 in March 2024 from +40 in December 2023.

The grade "excellent" is applied to net personal optimism scores at +40 or more; “very high” to scores between +30 and +39; “high” to scores between +20 and +29; “fair” to scores between +10 and +19; “mediocre” to scores between +1 to +9; “low” to scores between -9 and net zero; and “very Low” to scores at -10 and below.

The SWS poll, results of which were revealed on Monday, used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults aged 18 years old and above nationwide. Of the 1,500, a total of 600 are in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside Metro Manila), and 300 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4.0% for Balance Luzon, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2024 to obtain the national estimates. —KG, GMA Integrated News