(Eagle News) — The average hunger rate for all quarters of 2017 was the lowest recorded since 2004, the Social Weather Stations said.
The SWS said the rate of 12.3% was one point below the 13.3% recorded in 2016, and a bit higher than the 11.8 percent recorded in 2004.
The lowest average hunger rate was recorded in June 2017, at 9.5 percent.
According to the SWS, in the last quarter of December 2017, 15.9% experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.
The 15.9% recorded in the last quarter of December 2017 is the sum of the 12.2% who experienced moderate hunger and 3.7% who experienced severe hunger, the SWS said.
The pollster said that moderate hunger “refers to those who experienced hunger ‘Only Once’ or ‘A Few Times’ in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it ‘Often’ or ‘Always’ in the last three months.”
“The few who did not state their frequency of hunger were classified under moderate hunger,” the SWS said.
The fourth quarter December 2017 SWS survey was conducted from December 8-16, 2017 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Sampling error margins were pegged at ±2.5% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the SWS said.
Annual hunger rates have a sampling error margin of ±1.5%.
