KALIBO, Aklan – The number of poor people in Aklan decreased, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA records showed the poverty incidence among Aklanons dropped to 19.8 percent in the first half of 2018, lower compared to the 28.1 percent in 2015.
Poverty incidence is the proportion of the population living below the poverty line to the total population.
Subsistence incidence, or the proportion of Aklanons in extreme poverty, however, went up 6 percent in the first semester of 2018, from 5.9 percent in 2015.
The per capita food threshold – or the minimum amount needed to meet a person’s basic food needs – was estimated at P8,417, which translates to P1,403 per month or P47.00 daily.
This means that a family of five needs at least P7,014 to meet the family’s basic food needs every month.
Moreover, the first semester per capita poverty threshold – or the minimum income required to meet the basic food and non-food needs – was estimated at P12,069.
This means that a family of five would need to earn at least P10,058 per month to provide for its daily nutritional sustenance and other non-food basic requirements.
Among Aklanon families, poverty incidence was estimated at 14.6 percent in 2018, lower 42.5 percent compared to the 25.4 percent reported in 2015.
Furthermore, the subsistence incidence among Aklanon families was estimated at 4.1 percent in the first semester of 2018, also lower 28.1 percent compared to 5.7 percent recorded in 2015.
On average, incomes of poor families in the first half of 2018 were short 21.1 percent of the poverty threshold.
This means that, on average, an additional monthly income of P2,122 is needed by a family with five members to move out of poverty. (With a report from PSA-Aklan/PN)
