SWS: Filipinos rate personal well-being at all-time low
A Social Weather Stations' national survey found Filipino adults rating their personal well-being at a historic low.
Participants in the Anamnestic Comparative Self-Assessment survey, conducted from Nov. 24 to 30, 2025, were asked to compare the past two weeks of their lives with their worst and best experiences.
They were then asked to rate the comparison on a scale from -5 to +5. A rating of -5 meant present life was as bad as the worst experience; +5 signified life was as good as the best experience. Respondents could choose their answer from an 11-point scale: -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, and +5.
On average, participants scored their present life situation with +1.72 out of +5.
The rating was the lowest-ever Filipinos have ever given to their personal well-being, even lower than the previous bottom score of +1.97 in May 2021, when the country was in the thick of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the survey also found that on average, about 73% of adult Filipinos viewed their present life positively. Rounded off, around 25% rated their situation negatively, and, more or less, 3% were neutral.
Further, the survey also found that 20.1% of Filipino families were involuntarily hungry at least once in the three months before November 2025. The ACSA score reflected this as it was lower among those who experienced hunger but had nothing to eat.
Rating their happiness level, 33% said they were "very happy," while 28% said they were "very satisfied" with their present situation.
Respondents from Luzon, outside Metro Manila, scored their personal well-being the highest, while those in Mindanao gave themselves the lowest average. While scores hardly varied between sexes and age brackets, education level proved to be a significant factor. College graduates rated their personal well-being the highest, while non-elementary graduates appeared least fulfilled.
In the December 2024 survey, 79% of the adult Filipino respondents rated their well-being positively; 20% remained negative, and 1% was neutral.
The annual survey covers a wide variety of demographics. For this latest survey, 13% of the respondents were from Metro Manila, 45% from the rest of Luzon, 19% from Visayas, and 23% from Mindanao, with equal parts rural and urban participants.
Respondents were also spread out across age brackets: 11% were aged 18–24, 20% were 25–34, another 20% were 35–44, 16% were aged 45–54, and 33% were 55 years old and above.
