NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Multidimensional poverty worldwide has increased for the first time since its inception in 2010, now affecting 1.2 billion individuals across 108 countries. The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index covers a total of 6.3 billion people, revealing that 18.9% live under severe multidimensional deprivation. This latest figure is 51.5 million higher than the previous estimate when measured on a like-for-like basis. UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo described the rise as a “wake-up call for the world.” The index assesses interconnected deprivations in health, education, and living standards, rather than focusing solely on income.
Produced by the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, the latest data update incorporates 10 indicators, such as nutrition, schooling, sanitation, access to drinking water, electricity, housing quality, and household assets. It also considers child mortality rates, school attendance, and cooking fuel. An individual is classified as multidimensionally poor if at least one-third of these indicators, weighted accordingly, reveal deprivation. This comprehensive approach offers policymakers a broader perspective on hardship compared to reliance on income thresholds alone.
Children constitute more than half of those experiencing multidimensional poverty. Approximately 617 million children are affected, representing 51.5% of the global total. Nearly one in three children included in the index live under multidimensional poverty conditions. Rural areas bear an even greater burden, with around 83% of all multidimensionally poor individuals residing there. These rural populations face persistent gaps in essential services across many countries in the dataset.
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest share
Within all world regions, Sub-Saharan Africa reports the highest number of people living in multidimensional poverty, totaling 616 million. This figure accounts for 51.4% of the region’s population covered by the index. The 2026 update also includes fresh survey data from 13 countries and subnational estimates for 1,360 regions across 100 nations. In 95 countries lacking recent survey information, updated population figures contributed an additional 15.8 million individuals to the count of those experiencing multidimensional poverty this year.
Results from individual countries show both setbacks and progress. While Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan recorded notable declines in both poverty rates and affected populations, Angola and Zambia reduced their shares of poverty, but population growth increased their total numbers of poor. Nigeria, however, experienced a reversal after earlier gains in the 2010s, with both its poverty rate and the number of people living in multidimensional poverty rising in the latest data.
Thirty-three nations have halved their multidimensional poverty levels
Historical data demonstrate that significant reductions are achievable across various regions and income levels. Of 89 countries with trend data, 33 managed to cut their MPI value by half within fewer than 15 years. Among these, six are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini notably lowered its multidimensional poverty rate from 38.7% to 8.0%. China achieved the fastest reduction among countries with available data, while Viet Nam halved its MPI value in just seven years.
The 2026 findings also highlight the difference between multidimensional poverty and income-based extreme poverty. The MPI captures simultaneous deficits in vital aspects of daily life, whereas income poverty relies on a monetary threshold. Therefore, the latest report does not suggest that 1.2 billion people live below the global income poverty line. Instead, it indicates that over one billion individuals face overlapping disadvantages related to basic needs, with children and rural populations representing the largest shares.