MANILA - Poverty incidence declined to 21.6 percent or roughly one-fifth of the country’s 100 million people in 2015 due to strong economic growth and stable consumer prices, the government said Thursday.

There were 1.4 million less poor Filipinos last year, compared to 2012, when 25.2 percent, or roughly a quarter of the population were considered poor, said Rosemarie Edillon, deputy director general of the National Economic Development Authority.

Poverty incidence was at 26.3 percent in 2009. Official poverty statistics are culled every three years.

“The decline in poverty has been more pronounced in recent years,” Edillon said.

“This signifies improvement in the quality of living conditions, which may indicate that the government’s programs and projects, such as the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, have been gaining traction,” she said.

Among families, poverty was at a record low 16.5 percent in 2015 from 19.7 percent in 2012.