MANILA, Philippines — Indigenous Peoples, fisherfolk, and farmers remained among the poorest sectors in the Philippines in 2023, according to the latest poverty statistics released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The report showed that Indigenous Peoples had the highest poverty incidence at 32.4 percent, followed by fisherfolk (27.4 percent) and farmers (27 percent). 

These figures represent the percentage of individuals belonging to families living below the official poverty threshold, highlighting the persistent economic struggles of these groups, it said.

The PSA’s 2023 data also marked the first time that poverty estimates for Indigenous Peoples were included among the 11 basic sectors covered under Republic Act No. 8425 or the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act.

Meanwhile, senior citizens (7.8 percent), formal labor and migrant workers (8.3 percent), and urban residents (10.3 percent) recorded the lowest poverty incidences.

Despite these challenges, poverty incidence across all sectors declined from 2021 to 2023, reflecting a broader national trend. The overall poverty rate in the country dropped by 2.6 percentage points during the same period.

The sectors with the highest number of poor individuals were children (9.29 million) and women (8.66 million), though both groups saw significant reductions in poverty numbers, with 1.28 million fewer poor women and 1.13 million fewer poor children compared to 2021.

Additionally, the PSA generated poverty estimates for the newly established Negros Island Region (NIR) for 2018, 2021, and 2023. This led to adjustments in poverty data for Western Visayas (Region VI) and Central Visayas (Region VII) to reflect the updated regional composition, it said.

Poverty in rural areas remained significantly higher than in urban areas, with a poverty incidence of 22.1 percent compared to 10.3 percent in cities. However, the number of poor individuals in rural areas dropped by 2.25 million from 2021 to 2023, the statistics bureau said.