who is the middle class filipino / pinoy?

We interrupt the travel journal series for some interesting data from the National Statistical Coordination Board. You can read the entertaining article here, or if you're lazy, just read my summary below.

- To be considered middle-class in 2009, you must earn between P 282,158 to P 2,296,582 a year

Quote:

"In 2006, the middle income class may be defined as those families with annual income ranging from P246,109 to P2,000,072. However, in 2008, a family needed an income that ranged from P276,626 to P2,251,551 to be considered middle class. And in 2009, you would need to earn close to half a million pesos (mean/median income) to be in the middle class."


Picture from Business Week (Philippines), "Middle Income Housing"



- The average middle-class family earns P 529,483 a year

- As of 2006, the average middle-class savings is P 100,047. The lowest savings rate is P 5,997, and the highest in the middle class was P 1,435,053.

- In 2006, 19% of Filipinos were middle class. This was BEFORE the crisis, of course.

- "Between 1997 and 2006, ownership by the Pinoy Middle Class of DVD/VCD/VTR/VCR and air conditioning unit rose from 48.7% to 86.2% and from 9.8% to 28.6%, respectively. (Is it the middle class that supports the proliferation of illegal, pirated videos in Quiapo?"