96% of Filipinos facing New Year with hope — poll

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

MORE THAN 96% of adult Filipinos are entering the New Year with hope, according to the Social Weather Station’s (SWS) 4th quarter 2023 survey.

Citing its poll conducted on Dec. 8 to 11 and released on Thursday, the SWS said 96% of adult Filipinos said they are welcoming the New Year with hope, higher than 95% last year and matches the pre-pandemic sentiment in 2019.

“On the other hand, 3% will enter the New Year with fear, down by two points from 5% in 2022,” the SWS said in a statement.

According to the survey, 97% each from Metro Manila and Balance Luzon feel hopeful for the New Year, while 93% of residents in the Visayas and 96% in Mindanao are hopeful.

The percentage of adult Filipinos welcoming the New Year with hope is higher than those who expected a happy Christmas this year at 73%.

“Hope for the coming New Year has always been higher among those who expected a happy Christmas than those who expected a sad Christmas,” the SWS said.

Hope for the New Year also increased across educational levels from the last year, the SWS also noted.

It said that 93% of non-elementary graduates are hopeful, from 92% last year, while 97% among elementary graduates are hopeful, up by 95% in 2022.

The SWS added that 96% of junior high school graduates are hopeful compared to 95% last year, while 98% of college graduates have hope for the New Year, up by 2% from the previous year.

The SWS interviewed a total of 1,200 Filipino adults aged 18 and above through face-to-face interviews.

Out of the total respondents, 52% are from urban areas while 48% are from rural areas.

It had a sampling error margin of ±2.8% for national percentages, and ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.