NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index indicates that for the first time since its inception in 2010, the number of people experiencing multidimensional poverty worldwide has grown, reaching 1.2 billion across 108 countries. Covering 6.3 billion individuals, the index reveals that 18.9% live under conditions of severe multidimensional poverty. This latest figure is 51.5 million higher than the previous update on a comparable basis. UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo described this rise as a “wake-up call for the world.” The index evaluates overlapping deprivations related to health, education, and living standards, rather than focusing solely on income.
The recent data derives from the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Their index considers 10 indicators, including nutrition, education, sanitation, access to drinking water, electricity, housing quality, household assets, child mortality, school attendance, and cooking fuel. An individual is classified as multidimensionally poor if their deprivations reach at least one-third of the weighted indicators. This approach provides policymakers with a broader perspective on hardship compared to solely income-based measures.
Children constitute over half of the people living in multidimensional poverty. Approximately 617 million children are affected, accounting for 51.5% of the global total. Nearly one in three children included in the index experience multidimensional deprivation. Rural areas bear an even greater share of this burden, with around 83% of all multidimensionally poor individuals residing in rural settings where gaps in basic services remain prevalent across numerous countries included in the dataset.
Sub-Saharan Africa Faces the Highest Poverty Burden
In terms of regional impact, Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest population living in multidimensional poverty, totaling 616 million. This represents 51.4% of the region’s population covered by the index. The 2026 update incorporates new survey data from 13 countries and subnational estimates for 1,360 regions across 100 countries. In 95 nations lacking recent survey data, updated population figures added 15.8 million individuals to the count of those experiencing multidimensional poverty this year.
Country-specific outcomes reveal both progress and setbacks. Nations like Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan saw notable reductions in both their poverty rates and total affected populations. Angola and Zambia also decreased their poverty proportions, but population growth resulted in a higher absolute number of impoverished people. Nigeria experienced an increase after earlier declines during the 2010s, with both its poverty rate and the number of multidimensionally poor individuals rising in the latest data.
Half of the Countries Achieve a 50% Drop in Multidimensional Poverty
Long-term analysis shows that significant reductions remain attainable across different regions and income groups. Out of 89 countries with available trend data, 33 countries managed to cut their MPI score by half in less than 15 years. Among these, six are situated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini notably lowered its multidimensional poverty rate from 38.7% to 8.0%. China experienced the fastest decline among nations with data, while Viet Nam managed to halve its MPI value within seven years.
The 2026 report emphasizes the distinction between multidimensional poverty and income-based extreme poverty. The MPI assesses simultaneous deficiencies in critical areas of everyday life, whereas income poverty relies on a monetary threshold. Consequently, the latest findings do not indicate that 1.2 billion people live below the global extreme-poverty income line. Instead, they highlight that over one billion individuals face multiple overlapping hardships related to essential needs, with children and rural populations representing the largest shares.