Fourty-eight percent of adult Filipinos think their quality of life will improve in the next 12 months, the latest Social Welfare Survey (SWS) showed this week.

According to a nationwide study conducted from 28 September to 1 October, 40 percent of adult Filipinos believe that their quality of life will remain the same over the next 12 months.

Six percent of pessimistic respondents believed it would decrease, and seven percent of Filipino participants did not respond.

SWS considers the resultant Net Personal Optimism score of +42 to be excellent. It is comparable to June 2023's +41 Net Personal Optimism score.

"The survey question on the respondents' prediction of their quality of life change over the next 12 months has been fielded 150 times since April 1984," the private pollster said.

"Out of the 150 surveys, the Net Personal Optimism score was negative only 11 times, reaching a historic low of -19 in May 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. It has since trended back upwards to pre-pandemic levels," SWS added.

Around 1,200 Filipino adults from various regions across the country participated in the survey.

Among them, 13 percent were from Metro Manila, 45 percent from areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila, 19 percent from the Visayas, and 23 percent from Mindanao.

The survey indicated that Balance Luzon and Mindanao received "excellent" ratings in Net Personal Optimism scores. Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the Visayas scored "Very High," representing the second highest level of optimism.

Optimism rose by 6 points, reaching +50 from +44 in Balance Luzon, and increased by 7 points, reaching +43 from +36 in Mindanao.

However, optimism experienced a decline, dropping by 11 points from +41 to +30 in Metro Manila, and also decreased by 9 points from +39 to +30 in the Visayas.

"The 1-point increase in the national Net Personal Optimism score between June 2023 and September 2023 was due to increases in Balance Luzon (or Luzon outside of Metro Manila) and Mindanao, combined with decreases in Metro Manila and the Visayas," SWS said.

The survey revealed that net personal optimism remained at an "excellent" level for individuals who either graduated from college or pursued post-graduate studies, although it decreased by 4 points from +50 to +46.

Similarly, it sustained an "excellent" level for those who completed various educational levels—junior high school, vocational schooling, senior high school, vocational school completion, or partial college education—showing minimal change from +47 to +46.

In the September 2023 survey, net personal optimism was higher among households self-identifying as not poor, registering at +46. It was +43 among those considering themselves borderline families and +39 among those identifying as poor.

The non-commissioned survey involved face-to-face interviews with the respondents. The sampling error margins are ±2.8% for national percentages and ±5.7% for each specific region, including Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.