UN Global Multidimensional Poverty Index Rises to 1.2 Billion People in 2026

The global Multidimensional Poverty Index rose for the first time since its creation in 2010, affecting 1.2 billion people worldwide, according to an update published in October 2026 by the United Nations Development Programme and Oxford University. Dawn reported that the updated index counts 51.5 million more people living in acute hardship across health, education, and standard of living than in the previous year’s figures. More than half of those impacted are children, totaling 617 million, while 83 per cent live in rural areas.

Deprivations across health, education, and living standards

The index evaluates 10 specific indicators spanning nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, and basic infrastructure including access to electricity, drinking water, and sanitation. An individual is classified as multidimensionally poor if they experience deprivation in one-third or more of these evaluated areas. According to the United Nations Development Programme, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia account for the overwhelming majority of deprivations across every indicator in the global survey.

Population growth and uneven survey data

The 2026 assessment covers 108 countries, which represent approximately 78 per cent of the global population. The report indicates that population growth outpaced poverty reduction efforts in multiple regions. In 95 countries where no new survey data was available, updated population estimates added nearly 16 million people to the poverty count. The remaining increase stems from 13 countries with newly gathered data, reflecting actual changes in poverty incidence alongside demographic shifts.

Dawn noted a mixed picture on the ground across developing nations. Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan successfully reduced both their poverty rates and the absolute number of people experiencing multidimensional poverty. Conversely, in Angola and Zambia, poverty rates declined, but rapid population growth offset those improvements, causing the total number of struggling individuals to rise. Nigeria demonstrated the fragility of such progress, seeing both its poverty rate and overall struggling population increase despite significant reductions achieved during the 2010s.

Reaching sustainable development targets by 2030

The international community maintains a Sustainable Development Goal target to reduce the proportion of people living in poverty by at least half before the end of the decade. Report authors maintain that this objective remains achievable through coordinated policy measures. The United Nations Development Programme reported that 33 countries have halved their index value in under 15 years, including six nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini lowered its multidimensional poverty share from nearly 39 per cent down to eight per cent, while China recorded the fastest reduction among countries with available data by halving its value from 9.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent between 2010 and 2014.

The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world. Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity. This is unacceptable.

Alexander De Croo, UNDP Administrator