Global MPI 2026: India Has 23.78 Crore Multidimensionally Poor, But Poverty Has Fallen Sharply Since 2005
The UNDP–Oxford Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2026 finds that 1.2 billion people worldwide face overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards. India accounts for nearly one-fifth of this total, although its poverty rate has declined substantially over the past two decades. What do the latest figures actually show, which deprivations remain, and how do they compare with NITI Aayog's estimates?
Key Highlights
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What is the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2026?
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford, released the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2026: Statistical Update on October 12, 2026.
Unlike conventional poverty measures that focus on income or consumption, the global MPI examines whether people experience several basic deprivations simultaneously, including inadequate nutrition, interrupted education, unsafe sanitation, poor housing and lack of electricity.
The 2026 edition covers 108 developing countries representing approximately 6.3 billion people. Its headline finding is that 1.2 billion people, or 18.9% of the population covered, live in acute multidimensional poverty. UNDP also reports that the global number has increased for the first time since the index began in 2010.
The increase requires careful interpretation. The report says the comparable count rose by 51.5 million, but this does not mean that 51.5 million people necessarily became poor during a single year. Changes in population estimates, updated household surveys and indicator coverage all affect the result.
The report identifies India as one of the countries that have achieved substantial poverty reduction, while also revealing the considerable scale of deprivation that remains.
1. What does the Global MPI 2026 say about India?
The report's Statistical Table 1 gives the following India-specific figures.
Indicator | India |
Survey used | 2019–2021 DHS/NFHS |
Global MPI value | 0.069 |
Multidimensional poverty headcount ratio | 16.4% |
Poor people in the survey-year population | 23.18 crore |
Estimated poor people using 2024 population | 23.78 crore |
Average intensity of deprivation | 42.0% |
Inequality among the poor | 0.010 |
Population in severe multidimensional poverty | 4.2% |
Population vulnerable to multidimensional poverty | 18.7% |
Health contribution to India's MPI | 32.2% |
Education contribution | 28.2% |
Standard-of-living contribution | 39.7% |
Population below $3/day international monetary poverty line | 5.3% |
Why are there two different figures for India's poor population?
The report records 231.828 million (23.18 crore) multidimensionally poor people using the population corresponding to the original survey period.
It also estimates 237.849 million (23.78 crore) using India's 2024 population, while retaining the measured poverty incidence of 16.4%.
The difference arises from the population reference year. It does not establish that 60 lakh additional Indians fell into poverty after the survey.
Most importantly, neither figure represents a fresh count obtained from a household survey conducted in 2026.
2. How much has multidimensional poverty declined in India?
India's long-term progress is one of the most important findings of the 2026 report.
Global MPI measure | 2005–06 | 2015–16 | 2019–21 |
MPI value | 0.283 | 0.122 | 0.069 |
Poverty incidence | 55.1% | 27.7% | 16.4% |
Intensity among poor people | 51.3% | 44.0% | 42.0% |
Poor population in survey year | 64.60 crore | 37.20 crore | 23.18 crore |
Source: Global MPI 2026, Statistical Table 2, India's harmonised trends. Population counts refer to the corresponding survey-year populations, not a constant population base.
Between 2005–06 and 2019–2021:
The share of Indians living in multidimensional poverty fell by 38.7 percentage points.
The headcount ratio declined by approximately 70.2% in relative terms.
The MPI value declined by approximately 75.6%.
Average deprivation intensity among poor people decreased from 51.3% to 42.0%.
This means India made progress in two ways: fewer people were identified as multidimensionally poor, and those who remained poor experienced a lower average share of weighted deprivations.
The 2026 report explicitly places India among 33 countries that halved their MPI value in fewer than 15 years. India's reduction occurred over approximately 14.5 years.
3. Which forms of deprivation remain most widespread in India?
A particularly important India-specific dataset appears in Statistical Table 2 of the report. It shows the percentage of the entire population who are both multidimensionally poor and deprived in each indicator.
Deprivation indicator | 2005–06 | 2015–16 | 2019–21 |
Nutrition | 44.3% | 21.1% | 11.8% |
Child mortality | 4.5% | 2.2% | 1.5% |
Years of schooling | 24.0% | 11.6% | 7.7% |
School attendance | 19.8% | 5.5% | 3.9% |
Cooking fuel | 52.9% | 26.0% | 13.9% |
Sanitation | 50.4% | 24.4% | 11.3% |
Drinking water | 16.4% | 5.7% | 2.7% |
Electricity | 29.0% | 8.6% | 2.1% |
Housing | 44.9% | 23.5% | 13.6% |
Assets | 37.5% | 9.5% | 5.6% |
Nutrition remains a major challenge
In 2019–2021, 11.8% of India's population was both multidimensionally poor and nutrition-deprived under the global MPI definition.
This is a considerable improvement from 44.3% in 2005–06, but it indicates that nutrition continues to be a major component of deprivation.
It also explains why improvements in income, roads or household electricity do not automatically eliminate poverty in all its dimensions.
Clean cooking fuel and housing are especially significant
Among the ten indicators, deprivation in cooking fuel was the most widespread among India's MPI-poor population, at 13.9% of the total population. Housing followed at 13.6%.
The figures indicate that access to cleaner cooking energy and adequate housing remain central to further poverty reduction.
Education still contributes substantially
The report records 7.7% of the population as both MPI-poor and deprived in years of schooling, and 3.9% as both MPI-poor and deprived in school attendance.
These measure different problems. Years of schooling captures accumulated educational disadvantage within a household, while school attendance captures the current exclusion of school-age children.
The decline in these indicators is significant, but their persistence shows why reducing school dropout and improving educational access remain important.
Electricity and drinking water have seen major improvements
The corresponding figures fell to 2.1% for electricity and 2.7% for drinking water.
These are among the lower deprivation rates in India's latest global MPI profile. However, they should not be confused with measures of uninterrupted power supply, drinking-water quality or reliable household water service.
4. Which dimension contributes most to poverty in India?
The report identifies standard-of-living deprivation as the largest contributor to India's MPI, at 39.7%, followed by health at 32.2% and education at 28.2%.
These contributions reflect each dimension's weighted role in the overall MPI. They are not percentages of poor people experiencing each category.
For policymakers, this distinction matters. India's poverty-reduction strategy needs to address material living conditions alongside nutritional and educational disadvantages rather than treating poverty as a single-sector problem.
5. How many Indians are severely poor or vulnerable to poverty?
The report distinguishes between three groups.
Multidimensionally poor: People whose weighted deprivation score is at least one-third.
Severely multidimensionally poor: People whose weighted deprivation score is at least one-half.
Vulnerable to multidimensional poverty: People whose weighted deprivation score is between one-fifth and one-third.
India's latest global MPI profile records:
Category | Share of India's population |
Multidimensionally poor | 16.4% |
Severely multidimensionally poor | 4.2% |
Vulnerable to multidimensional poverty | 18.7% |
Severe poverty is a subset of multidimensional poverty, not an additional group to be added to the 16.4%.
Vulnerability, however, refers to people who have not crossed the MPI poverty threshold but face substantial deprivation. A household may therefore be classified as non-poor under the MPI while remaining vulnerable to illness, unemployment, educational disruption or other shocks.
For India, this means policy must do more than help households cross a statistical threshold. It must also prevent vulnerable families from falling into deeper deprivation.
6. Global MPI 2026 versus India's National MPI: Why do the figures differ?
This is one of the most important questions for Indian readers.
NITI Aayog's national MPI and the UNDP–OPHI global MPI are related, but they are not identical measures.
Feature | Global MPI | India's National MPI |
Developed by | UNDP and OPHI | NITI Aayog, with technical collaboration |
Main purpose | International comparison | India's national and subnational poverty monitoring |
Dimensions | Health, education, living standards | Health, education, living standards |
Number of indicators | 10 | 12 |
India's 2019–21 poverty incidence | 16.4% | 14.96% |
2022–23 estimate | Not provided as a fresh global MPI survey result | 11.28%, projected |
India's national MPI includes two additional indicators: maternal health and bank accounts. Differences in indicator definitions and methodology also matter.
NITI Aayog's discussion paper Multidimensional Poverty in India since 2005–06 estimates that the national poverty headcount ratio declined from 29.17% in 2013–14 to 11.28% in 2022–23. It estimates that 24.82 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty during those nine years.
However, the 2013–14 and 2022–23 national figures were model-based projections, not direct estimates from fresh household surveys for those exact years.
The global MPI's 16.4% and the national MPI's 14.96% for 2019–2021 therefore should not be presented as contradictory results or as evidence of poverty increasing or decreasing between the two estimates.
They measure poverty using different specifications.
Which Indian states made the greatest progress?
NITI Aayog's national analysis estimates the following reductions in the number of multidimensionally poor people between 2013–14 and 2022–23:
State | Estimated people escaping poverty |
Uttar Pradesh | 5.94 crore |
Bihar | 3.77 crore |
Madhya Pradesh | 2.30 crore |
These figures come from NITI Aayog's national analysis, not from the country-level statistical table in the Global MPI 2026 report.
The 2026 global report does include a wider subnational MPI database covering 1,360 regions across 100 countries. However, the uploaded statistical update does not reproduce a complete India state-by-state table. It would therefore be misleading to present older national state figures as newly published 2026 global MPI state results.
7. How does India compare with its South Asian neighbours?
The 2026 report reveals substantial variation within South Asia. Countries differ in poverty incidence, the severity of deprivation and the dates of their underlying household surveys.
For example, Bangladesh's 2022 survey produces an MPI of 0.067 and poverty incidence of 14.9%, compared with India's 0.069 and 16.4% based on its 2019–2021 survey. Bhutan's 2022 national survey records an MPI of 0.039 and incidence of 9.8%.
Country | Survey period | MPI | Poverty incidence |
India | 2019–21 | 0.069 | 16.4% |
Bangladesh | 2022 | 0.067 | 14.9% |
Bhutan | 2022 | 0.039 | 9.8% |
Afghanistan | 2022–23 | 0.360 | 64.9% |
The contrast with Afghanistan is especially pronounced. Its multidimensional poverty incidence stands at 64.9%, reflecting a substantially higher burden of overlapping deprivation.
South Asia as a whole is home to approximately 393 million multidimensionally poor people, making it the region with the second-largest number after Sub-Saharan Africa.
India's estimated 237.85 million poor people account for approximately 60.5% of South Asia's multidimensionally poor population and approximately 19.9% of the global total.
These shares are calculated from the rounded regional and global figures published in the report. They reflect India's large population as well as its remaining poverty burden; they are not measures of India's relative poverty severity.
8. What does the report reveal about children and rural poverty?
Globally, children account for 51.5% of all multidimensionally poor people, despite constituting a smaller share of the overall population.
South Asia alone has approximately 181 million poor children.
The report also finds a pronounced rural–urban divide:
Global measure | Rural | Urban |
MPI value | 0.143 | 0.031 |
Poverty incidence | 28.7% | 7.0% |
Average intensity | 50.0% | 43.7% |
These are global rural–urban figures, not India-specific estimates.
For India, the findings reinforce the importance of improving rural infrastructure, nutrition, schooling, sanitation and public services. But the global percentages should not be cited as India's rural or urban poverty rates.
9. Has global multidimensional poverty increased in 2026?
UNDP's announcement says the number of people living in multidimensional poverty increased for the first time since the global MPI was launched in 2010.
The published count increased from approximately 1.148 billion in the 2025 report to 1.198 billion in 2026. After accounting for a change in country coverage, the comparable increase was 51.5 million.
The report attributes the change partly to population growth and partly to updated survey evidence. Of the 108 countries covered, only 13 received new survey estimates in the 2026 update.
The new survey countries are Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Zambia.
India was not among the 13 countries with newly updated surveys.
Consequently, the reported global increase cannot be used to claim that multidimensional poverty rose in India in 2026.
10. How is the Multidimensional Poverty Index calculated?
The global MPI uses the Alkire–Foster method, which identifies people experiencing multiple overlapping deprivations.
It covers three dimensions and ten indicators.
Dimension | Indicators | Weight of each indicator |
Health | Nutrition, child mortality | 1/6 |
Education | Years of schooling, school attendance | 1/6 |
Standard of living | Cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets | 1/18 |
Each dimension contributes one-third to the overall measure.
A person is classified as multidimensionally poor when their household's weighted deprivation score reaches at least one-third.
The MPI combines two measures:
MPI = H × A
Here, H represents the proportion of people who are multidimensionally poor, and A represents the average intensity of deprivation among those people.
For India:
0.164 × 0.420 = 0.06888 ≈ 0.069
This explains why India's MPI value is 0.069 even though 16.4% of its population is classified as multidimensionally poor.
A lower MPI value indicates less multidimensional poverty. It can decline because fewer people are poor, because poor people experience fewer deprivations, or both.
11. Does multidimensional poverty mean the same thing as income poverty?
No. They measure different aspects of deprivation.
Income or consumption poverty asks whether a person's resources fall below a defined monetary threshold. Multidimensional poverty asks whether people lack essential capabilities and living conditions.
For example, a household may be above an income-poverty line but still lack adequate sanitation, schooling or nutrition. Conversely, a household classified as income-poor may have access to several public services that reduce its multidimensional deprivation score.
The 2026 report's India table also records 5.3% under the international $3-a-day monetary poverty measure. This figure comes from a separate World Bank dataset, not the MPI calculation. Its reference period and methodology should be checked before making direct comparisons.
Therefore, India's 16.4% multidimensional poverty incidence and 5.3% monetary poverty rate do not measure the same population under the same definition.
12. What does Global MPI 2026 mean for India's development strategy?
The findings suggest five priorities.
First, nutrition must remain central to poverty policy. Although nutritional deprivation has declined substantially, it remains one of India's major MPI challenges. Food security must be accompanied by dietary quality, maternal and child healthcare, and effective delivery of nutrition programmes.
Second, basic infrastructure must translate into usable services. Electricity connections, drinking-water facilities, toilets and housing improvements are important, but their reliability, safety and sustained use also matter.
Third, education policy must address both attendance and learning opportunities. MPI indicators identify school participation and years of schooling, but they do not directly measure learning outcomes. Improving educational quality is therefore a complementary objective.
Fourth, interventions should be geographically targeted. National averages can conceal differences between states, districts, rural areas and urban settlements. India needs updated, comparable subnational evidence to identify where deprivation is concentrated.
Fifth, preventing poverty is as important as reducing it. India's 18.7% vulnerable population share demonstrates why social protection, healthcare access, livelihood security and resilience against economic shocks remain essential.
These are policy implications drawn from the data, rather than a set of India-specific recommendations formally prescribed by the Global MPI 2026 report.
13. Is India on track to achieve SDG 1.2 by 2030?
Sustainable Development Goal 1.2 calls for reducing by at least half the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions, according to national definitions, by 2030.
India's global MPI value declined by more than half between 2005–06 and 2019–2021. The 2026 report recognises this achievement.
NITI Aayog's national MPI analysis also indicates substantial progress, including its projected reduction to 11.28% in 2022–23.
However, achieving a past reduction of more than 50% does not mean that poverty has been eliminated or that every population group has achieved comparable progress.
The remaining challenge is to ensure that improvements reach the most disadvantaged households, including those experiencing overlapping educational, nutritional and housing deprivation.
14. What are the limitations of the Global MPI 2026?
The report itself identifies several important limitations.
The first is survey age. Although published in 2026, the estimates are based on household surveys conducted in different years. India's latest underlying survey covers 2019–2021.
Second, countries do not always have identical indicator availability. Some country-specific adjustments are necessary, which means international comparisons require caution.
Third, the MPI measures a defined set of ten indicators. It does not directly capture every dimension of deprivation, including employment quality, household debt, social discrimination, personal security or educational learning outcomes.
Fourth, the MPI is largely based on household-level deprivation. It cannot fully reveal inequalities between individuals living in the same household.
Finally, the report's national estimates can conceal substantial geographical disparities. State- and district-level data are indispensable for understanding the Indian situation.
The report notes that only 38 of the 108 countries have data from 2021–2022 or later, highlighting the wider problem of delayed poverty measurement.
Conclusion: India's progress is significant, but the remaining poverty burden is substantial
The Global MPI 2026 tells two important stories about India.
The first is one of substantial achievement. Between 2005–06 and 2019–2021, India's multidimensional poverty incidence fell from 55.1% to 16.4%, and its MPI value declined by more than 75%.
The second is one of unfinished development. An estimated 23.78 crore Indians remain multidimensionally poor when the latest available survey rate is applied to the 2024 population.
Nutrition, cooking fuel, housing and sanitation continue to account for important parts of that burden.
India's challenge is therefore not simply to reduce the national poverty percentage further. It is to ensure that improvements in health, education and living standards reach households experiencing the deepest and most persistent disadvantages.
The central lesson of the Global MPI 2026 is that economic progress and poverty reduction must be judged not only by how many people cross a threshold, but also by how comprehensively their living conditions improve.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who released the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2026?
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford released the statistical update on October 12, 2026.
2. What is India's multidimensional poverty rate according to the Global MPI 2026?
India's reported multidimensional poverty incidence is 16.4%, based on household survey data from 2019–2021.
3. How many people in India are multidimensionally poor?
The report estimates 237.849 million people, or approximately 23.78 crore, using 2024 population estimates and India's latest available global MPI poverty rate.
4. What is India's MPI value in 2026?
India's MPI value published in the 2026 report is 0.069. It is calculated from the 2019–2021 survey data, not a new 2026 survey.
5. How much has multidimensional poverty declined in India since 2005?
India's poverty incidence declined from 55.1% in 2005–06 to 16.4% in 2019–2021, a reduction of 38.7 percentage points.
6. Which deprivation contributes most to India's MPI?
Standard-of-living deprivation contributes the largest share, at 39.7%, followed by health at 32.2% and education at 28.2%.
7. What percentage of Indians are severely multidimensionally poor?
The report records 4.2% of India's population as severely multidimensionally poor.
8. Why does NITI Aayog report 11.28% poverty while the Global MPI reports 16.4%?
NITI Aayog's 11.28% is a projected national MPI estimate for 2022–23 using a 12-indicator framework. The global MPI's 16.4% comes from a 10-indicator international framework and India's 2019–2021 survey. They are not directly interchangeable.
9. Has poverty increased in India according to the 2026 report?
The report does not establish a new increase in Indian multidimensional poverty. India did not receive a new survey estimate in the 2026 update.
10. What is the difference between MPI incidence and intensity?
Incidence measures the share of people classified as poor. Intensity measures the average proportion of weighted deprivations experienced by those people.
11. Which SDG is linked to multidimensional poverty?
SDG Target 1.2, which seeks to reduce poverty in all its dimensions by at least half by 2030.
12. Is the Global MPI the same as the Human Development Index?
No. The Human Development Index measures average achievements in health, education and income, while the MPI identifies overlapping deprivations experienced by households and individuals.
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