More adult Filipinos are consuming alcohol, according to new data from the Department of Science and Technology. The share of adults aged 20 to 59 who are current drinkers rose to 62.5 percent in 2025.
Data from the 2025 Updating Survey of the Nutritional Status of Filipino Children and Other Population Groups conducted by the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute showed that the share of Filipinos aged 20 to 59 classified as current drinkers rose to 62.5 percent in 2025 from 60.3 percent in 2023. Recent drinkers also increased slightly to 38.6 percent.
Presenting the findings at the 2026 National Nutrition Summit in Pasay City on Wednesday, senior science research specialist Maria Stephanie Parani noted a clear socioeconomic trend, with recent drinking lowest among the poorest and rising with wealth. Recent drinkers were almost equally distributed between urban and rural areas.
Among adolescents aged 10 to 19, the proportion of current drinkers declined slightly to 22.3 percent from 22.6 percent, though the change was not statistically significant. Rates in Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas and Caraga exceeded the national average.