The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released data on Tuesday showing a significant drop in the country’s poverty incidence from 18.1 percent in 2021 to 15.5 percent in 2023.

According to the 2023 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics, this reduction means that 2.45 million fewer Filipinos are living in poverty.

The 2.6 percentage point improvement exceeds the government’s development target for 2023, which aimed for a 16.0 to 16.4 percent poverty incidence, according to the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

The PSA also reported that the poverty incidence rate among families dropped to 10.9 percent from 13.2 percent.

“The increase in the number of Filipinos being lifted out of poverty shows that our country has endured and overcome the developmental challenges of the past two years,” National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Lope Santos III said.

The PSA also reported that the poverty incidence rate among families dropped to 10.9 percent from 13.2 percent over the same period. This decline translates to a reduction of around 500,000 poor families, from 3.5 million to 3 million.

Santos emphasized that fulfilling the five fundamental rights of the poor remains a top priority in government projects, policy reforms, and legislation.

“Our strategies and framework for eradicating poverty are both multidimensional and multi-stakeholder. As instructed by the president last year, we have identified our focus communities and sectors to ensure that targeted government interventions yield favorable outcomes in poverty reduction,” he said.

He said that while the recent self-rated poverty survey indicated a sharp increase in the number of individuals identifying as poor, the significant progress in government estimates is a very welcome development.

The official echoed the National Economic and Development Authority’s statement that economic growth is progressive and that they look forward to witnessing the gradual yet sustained positive effects of poverty reduction on Filipinos.