NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – For the first time since its inception in 2010, global multidimensional poverty has seen an increase. The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index reports that 1.2 billion individuals are living in severe poverty across 108 nations. This figure accounts for 18.9% of the 6.3 billion people included in the study. Compared to the previous update, the total has grown by 51.5 million. The index evaluates deprivation across sectors such as health, education, and living standards, rather than solely income.
The latest assessment was produced by the United Nations Development Programme in collaboration with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Researchers analyze 10 indicators, which include nutrition, child mortality, school attendance, and cooking fuel. They also consider sanitation, access to drinking water, electricity, housing, and household assets. When an individual’s combined deprivations reach at least one-third of the total, they are classified as multidimensionally poor. This approach captures multiple overlapping hardships affecting households simultaneously.
Children constitute over half of those identified as multidimensionally poor globally. Approximately 617 million children are affected, representing 51.5% of the total. Nearly one-third of children included in the index experience multidimensional poverty. Rural populations are disproportionately impacted, with around 83% of all multidimensionally poor individuals residing in rural areas. These figures underscore ongoing disparities in essential services, education, and living conditions across various countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa Exhibits the Highest Share
The region of Sub-Saharan Africa is home to roughly 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, the highest number among all regions. This amounts to 51.4% of the population within the index for that region. The 2026 report incorporates new survey data from 13 countries and provides subnational estimates for 1,360 regions across 100 nations. Changes in population figures, due to updates in demographic data, affected outcomes in countries lacking recent household surveys. In 95 such nations, demographic revisions contributed an additional 15.8 million individuals to the poverty count.
National trends vary widely among countries with comparable historical data. Countries like Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan saw declines in both their multidimensional poverty rates and the number of affected individuals. Angola and Zambia also reduced their share of residents living in multidimensional poverty; however, population growth caused their total numbers to still rise. Nigeria experienced increases in both the poverty rate and the number of affected people after earlier improvements, illustrating that global figures can mask diverse national patterns.
Persistent Reductions in Multidimensional Poverty Noted in Several Countries
Long-term data reveal significant declines in multidimensional poverty in various regions. Of the 89 countries with available trend data, 33 managed to halve their MPI value within 15 years. Six of these nations are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini reduced its multidimensional poverty rate from 38.7% to 8.0%. China experienced the fastest reduction among countries with available data, with its MPI falling from 9.5% to 4.2% between 2010 and 2014. Viet Nam also achieved a 50% reduction in its MPI within seven years.
The figure of 1.2 billion differs from global estimates based solely on income-based extreme poverty. Multidimensional poverty assesses multiple disadvantages faced simultaneously, such as inadequate education, poor nutrition, unsafe sanitation, and limited access to electricity or clean water. This broader measurement offers a more comprehensive view of deprivation than income thresholds alone. The 2026 results highlight that children, rural populations, and Sub-Saharan Africa are at the forefront of the latest global increase in poverty.