Hunger up 27.2%, highest since pandemic — SWS

The number of Filipino families who experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months increased to 27.2%, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by the Stratbase Group.

The latest figure is higher than the 25.9% recorded in December, 2024 and is the highest since the record high of 30.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020.

Conducted from March 15 to 20, 2025, the survey found that hunger during this month was 6 points higher than 21.2% in February.

Involuntary hunger means "being hungry and not having anything to eat."

The highest hunger percentage was recorded in the Visayas at 33.7%.

This was followed by Metro Manila at 28.3%, Mindanao at 27.3%, and Balance Luzon at 24%.

The SWS survey attributed the rise in the hunger rate in March to the increases in Visayas, Balance Luzon, and Mindanao, combined with a steady score in Metro Manila.

“Compared to February 2025, the incidence of hunger rose by 13.7 points from 20.0% in the Visayas, 4.9 points from 19.1% in Balance Luzon, and 4.0 points from 23.3% in Mindanao. However, it hardly moved from 27.3% in Metro Manila,” the SWS survey said.

Of the 27.2% families who experienced hunger, 21% had moderate hunger while 6.2% suffered from 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.

The SWS survey also noted that the hunger rate in March is the highest since the record high of 30.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020.

It is also 7 points above the 20.2% annual hunger average of 2024 after increasing for two consecutive months from 15.9% in January 2025,

The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,800 registered voters nationwide.

It has sampling error margins of ±2.31% for national percentages, ±3.27% for Balance Luzon, and ±5.66% each for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.—RF, GMA Integrated News