In 2018, Filipino families earned PhP 313 thousand, on average. In comparison, their expenditure for the same year was PhP 239 thousand, on average. These figures translate to an average annual savings of PhP 75 thousand (Table 1). These estimates are based on the results of the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES).

Adjusting for the inflation between 2015 and 2018, at 2012 prices, the average annual family income in 2018 would be valued at PhP 267 thousand, while the average annual family expenditure for the same year would be valued at PhP 203 thousand (Table 1).

The average family income ranged from PhP 113 thousand for the first income decile (lowest 10 % income group) to PhP 867 thousand for the tenth decile (highest 10% income group). The average annual income of families in the tenth decile was about eight (8) times of those in the first decile, while nine (9) times of those in the first decile in 2015 (Table 2a). The national per capita income decile is obtained by ranking the per capita family income of all sample families from lowest to highest and was compiled into ten groups. The first tenth, meaning those with the lowest income, is called the first decile, the second tenth, second decile, and so on.

Across regions, families in the National Capital Region (NCR) had the highest average annual family income at PhP 460 thousand in 2018.  Families in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had the lowest average annual income at PhP 161 thousand pesos (Table 4a).

The Gini coefficient of the income of families at the national level was estimated at 0.4267 in 2018.  Across regions, the coefficient ranged from 0.2819 to 0.4457  (Table 4). The Gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality within the population which ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 indicating perfect income equality among families, and 1 indicating absolute income inequality.

In terms of the pattern of spending among Filipino families, the bottom 30 percent income group spent 58.2 percent on food, compared to those in the upper 70 percent income group at 39.5 percent (Table 5).

(Sgd.) CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

Technical Notes

• The 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) is a nationwide survey of households undertaken every three years.  It is the main source of data on family income and expenditure, which include among others, levels of consumption by item of expenditure as well as sources of income in cash and in kind.  The results of FIES provide information on the levels of living and disparities in income of Filipino families, as well as their spending patterns.
• The 2018 FIES enumeration was conducted twice – the first visit was in  July 2018 covering the first semester (January to June 2018) as the reference period; the second visit was in January 2019 with the second semester (July to December 2018) as reference period. The same set of questions is asked for both visits.
• Starting 2018 FIES, the survey adopted the 2013 Master Sample Design, with a sample size of approximately 180,000 sample households.
• The number of families for the 2015 and 2018 FIES was estimated using the household population projections-based on the household population counts from the 2015 Census of Population (POPCEN 2015).
• Starting 2012 FIES, the survey adopted the 2009 Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP). The 2009 PCOICOP is the first standard classification of individual consumption expenditure in the country. 
• The standard error can be used to calculate confidence intervals within which the true value for the population can reasonably be assumed to fall.  For example, for any given statistic calculated from a sample survey, the value of that statistic will fall within a range of plus or minus two times the standard error of that statistic in 95 percent of all possible samples of the same size and design.