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Who
are Poor?
The concept of poverty threshold must be understood properly
to know who are poor. The data published by the NSCB (see table
below) cites the annual per capita poverty threshold,
often referred to as the "poverty line". This
should not be interpreted as the monthly family income dividing
the poor from non-poor families.
The annual per capita poverty threshold is the annual per capita
income or income per person per year required to satisfy
the nutritional requirements (2,000 calories) and other basic
needs. As an individual, if your annual income falls below this
figure, then you are poor. As a family, the monthly figure can
be derived as in the example below:
In Region VIII, the annual per capita poverty threshold
is P9,623.00 and the average family size is 5.
So for a family of five, the monthly income
this family (regardless of area) should have to be considered
non-poor must be P4,010 (obtained by multiplying P9,623
by 5 members and dividing by 12 months).
Poverty threshold in
rural areas is lower than in urban areas for the reason that
it is more expensive to live in the urban than in rural areas.
In the rural areas, for example, some vegetables can be obtained
for free.
Magnitude and Poverty Incidence
The data below cites "magnitude of poor families".
This refers to the number of poor families -- by poor, it
means that their income are not able to meet the minimum food
needs and other basic requirements for living. In 2000, Region
VIII had 278,486 families that were poor.
Poverty incidence refers to the proportion (expressed in %)
of poor families to the total number of families. In 2000,
Region VIII had a total of 736,809 families of which 37.8%
were poor. The figure "37.8%" is the poverty incidence
in Region VIII for all areas. That means, about 38 out of
every 100 families were poor. Poverty incidence in rural areas
in 2000 was 44.9%. That means about 45 out of every 100 rural
family was poor.
Availability of Data
Poverty statistics are released every three years by the National
Statistical Coordination Board.
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Table 1. Annual Per Capita Poverty Threshold and Poverty Incidence
of Families
by Province, Region VIII: 1997 and 2000
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ALL
AREAS
|
| PROVINCE |
Annual
Per Capita Poverty Threshold 1/
(in Pesos) |
Magnitude
of Poor
Families 2/ |
Incidence
of Poor
Families 3/
(in Percent) |
| 1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
| Philippines |
9,843 |
11,605 |
3,982,766 |
4,338,780 |
28.1
|
28.4
|
| Region
VIII |
8,319 |
9,623 |
299,733 |
278,486 |
39.9
|
37.8
|
| Leyte |
8,262 |
9,790 |
105,188 |
122,070 |
32.9
|
36.1
|
| Biliran |
8,626 |
10,072 |
11,877 |
9,975 |
39.6
|
34.8
|
| Southern
Leyte |
8,194 |
9,674 |
31,389 |
20,856 |
33.6
|
28.5
|
| Samar |
8,470 |
9,574 |
45,140 |
52,110 |
41.1
|
40.7
|
| Eastern
Samar |
8,577 |
9,516 |
51,341 |
35,067 |
58.1
|
47.3
|
| Northern
Samar |
8,063 |
9,166 |
54,799 |
38,409 |
49.5
|
40.7
|
URBAN AREAS |
| Province |
Annual
Per Capita Poverty Threshold 1/
(in Pesos) |
Magnitude
of Poor
Families 2/ |
Incidence
of Poor
Families 3/
(in Percent) |
| 1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
| Philippines |
10,914 |
12,915 |
1,011,479 |
1,121,819 |
15.0 |
15.0 |
| Region
VIII |
8,860 |
9,969 |
50,416 |
40,661 |
25.0 |
19.6 |
| Leyte |
8,848 |
10,250 |
18,103 |
13,977 |
18.7 |
12.6 |
| Biliran |
8,682 |
9,914 |
1,417 |
1,931 |
18.8 |
27.0 |
| Southern
Leyte |
8,726 |
10,405 |
5,095 |
4,336 |
28.3 |
31.0 |
| Samar |
9,622 |
10,181 |
5,385 |
4,545 |
23.6 |
16.9 |
| Eastern
Samar |
8,845 |
10,317 |
9,209 |
7,715 |
34.1 |
33.6 |
| Northern
Samar |
8,672 |
8,844 |
11,208 |
8,158 |
38.2 |
32.4 |
RURAL
AREAS
|
| Province |
Annual
Per Capita Poverty Threshold 1/
(in Pesos) |
Magnitude
of Poor
Families 2/ |
Incidence
of Poor
Families 3/
(in Percent) |
| 1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
| Philippines |
9,458 |
11,125 |
2,971,288 |
3,216,961 |
39.9 |
41.4 |
| Region
VIII |
8,204 |
9,562 |
249,317 |
237,825 |
45.4 |
44.9 |
| Leyte |
8,125 |
9,725 |
87,085 |
108,093 |
39.2 |
47.6 |
| Biliran |
8,617 |
10,116 |
10,461 |
8,044 |
46.7 |
37.4 |
| Southern
Leyte |
8,085 |
9,498 |
26,294 |
16,520 |
34.9 |
27.9 |
| Samar |
8,332 |
9,517 |
39,755 |
47,565 |
45.7 |
47.0 |
| Eastern
Samar |
8,526 |
9,277 |
42,132 |
27,351 |
68.8 |
53.5 |
| Northern
Samar |
7,879 |
9,250 |
43,591 |
30,251 |
53.6 |
43.7 |
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1/ The annual
per capita income required or the amount to be spent to satisfy
nutritional requirements
(2,000 calories) and other basis
needs.
2/ The number of families whose annual per capita
income falls below the annual per capita poverty threshold.
3/ The proportion of poor families to the total number
of families.
4/ Has coefficient of variation greater then 10 but
less than 15 percent.
Source:
National Statistics Coordination Board
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