NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – For the first time since its inception in 2010, global multidimensional poverty has increased, impacting 1.2 billion individuals across 108 nations. The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index encompasses 6.3 billion people and reveals that 18.9% are experiencing severe multidimensional deprivation. This latest figure is 51.5 million higher than the previous update when measured 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 in health, education, and living standards, moving beyond income alone.
The current data comes from the United Nations Development Programme and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Their index assesses 10 key indicators, including nutrition, schooling, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, and household assets. It also incorporates child mortality, school attendance, and cooking fuel. A person is considered multidimensionally poor if at least one-third of these indicators are deprived. This comprehensive framework offers policymakers a broader understanding of hardship than relying solely on income thresholds.
Children constitute more than half of those living in multidimensional poverty. Approximately 617 million children are affected, accounting for 51.5% of the global total. Nearly one in three children covered by the index live in multidimensional deprivation. Rural areas bear an even larger share, with around 83% of all multidimensionally poor individuals residing in these regions, where gaps in essential services remain widespread across many countries in the dataset.
Sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden
Within the world regions, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of people in multidimensional poverty, totaling 616 million. This figure represents 51.4% of the region’s population covered by the index. The 2026 update also features new survey data from 13 countries and estimates at the subnational level for 1,360 regions across 100 nations. In 95 countries lacking recent survey data, updated population estimates added 15.8 million individuals to the count of those in multidimensional poverty this year.
Country-specific results highlight both setbacks and progress. Nations such as Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan experienced notable declines in their poverty rates and affected populations. Angola and Zambia saw reductions in their poverty shares, but population growth resulted in an increased number of poor people overall. Conversely, Nigeria saw a reversal after initial progress during the 2010s, with both its poverty rate and the total number of multidimensionally poor increasing in the latest data.
Half of the countries achieved a 50% reduction in multidimensional poverty
Historical data demonstrate that significant declines are feasible across various regions and income groups. Out of 89 countries with trend data, 33 managed to halve their MPI within less than 15 years. Among these, six are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini notably reduced its multidimensional poverty rate from 38.7% to 8.0%. China experienced the fastest reduction among countries with available data, while Viet Nam managed to halve its MPI value within just seven years.
The 2026 report also emphasizes the difference between multidimensional poverty and income-based extreme poverty. While the MPI captures simultaneous shortages in essential aspects of daily life, income poverty relies on a monetary threshold. Therefore, the new findings do not indicate that 1.2 billion people live below the global extreme-income poverty line. Instead, they highlight that over one billion individuals face overlapping hardships across fundamental needs, with children and rural populations representing the largest shares.