NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – For the first time since its inception in 2010, the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index indicates an increase in global multidimensional poverty, now affecting 1.2 billion individuals across 108 countries. Covering 6.3 billion people overall, the index reveals that 18.9% live under severe multidimensional deprivation. This latest figure is 51.5 million higher compared to the previous report on a like-for-like basis. UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo described this rise as a “wake-up call for the world.” Unlike income-focused measures, the index examines overlapping deficits in health, education, and living standards.
The recent data update was produced by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Their index evaluates ten key indicators, including nutrition, access to education, sanitation, clean drinking water, electricity, housing quality, and household assets. It also factors in child mortality rates, school attendance, and cooking fuel sources. A person is classified as multidimensionally poor if at least one-third of these weighted indicators are deprived. This approach provides policymakers with a broader understanding of hardship beyond mere income levels.
Children constitute over half of the population living in multidimensional poverty. The index estimates approximately 617 million children—equivalent to 51.5% of the total affected worldwide—are impacted. Nearly one in three children included in the index experience multidimensional deprivation. Rural areas bear an even greater share of this burden, with about 83% of all multidimensionally poor individuals residing in rural regions, where deficiencies in essential services remain widespread in many of the countries analyzed.
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest share of the burden
The region of Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, representing the largest total among world regions. This number constitutes 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 without recent survey data, updated population estimates added 15.8 million individuals to the count of those experiencing multidimensional poverty this year.
Results from individual countries show both improvements and setbacks. Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan have seen notable reductions in both their poverty rates and the number of affected people. Angola and Zambia decreased their poverty proportions, but population growth has led to an increase in the absolute number of poor people. Conversely, Nigeria experienced a reversal of earlier progress during the 2010s, with both its poverty rate and the number of people in multidimensional poverty rising in the latest data.
Thirty-three nations cut their multidimensional poverty in half
Historical data demonstrates that significant reductions are still achievable across various regions and income brackets. Among 89 countries with trend data, 33 managed to halve their MPI scores within fewer than 15 years. Six of these nations are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini notably decreased its multidimensional poverty rate from 38.7% to 8.0%. China achieved the fastest decline among countries with available data, while Viet Nam managed to halve its MPI value within just seven years.
The 2026 results also emphasize that multidimensional poverty differs from income-based extreme poverty. While the MPI captures concurrent shortages in essential areas of daily life, income poverty relies on a monetary threshold. Therefore, the new report does not suggest that 1.2 billion people live below the global extreme-poverty income line. Instead, it highlights that more than one billion individuals face multiple overlapping disadvantages across basic needs, with children and rural populations representing the largest shares.