NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – For the first time since its inception in 2010, global multidimensional poverty has seen an upward shift, according to the latest data. The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index reveals 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 encompassed in the study, marking an increase of 51.5 million from the previous update. Unlike income-based measures, these findings evaluate hardships in health, education, and living standards, providing a broader perspective on deprivation.
The United Nations Development Programme collaborated with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative to generate this latest assessment, which considers 10 key indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, schooling, school attendance, and cooking fuel. Additional factors include sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, and household assets. When individuals face deprivations that sum to at least one-third of the weighted total, they are classified as multidimensionally poor, capturing multiple forms of hardship that can simultaneously impact the same household.
Children constitute more than half of those identified as multidimensionally poor worldwide, with approximately 617 million children living under these conditions, representing 51.5% of the global total. Nearly one-third of children included in the index experience multiple deprivations. Rural populations are disproportionately affected, as about 83% of all multidimensionally poor people reside in rural areas. These figures underscore ongoing disparities in access to basic services, education, and quality living conditions across numerous countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa Exhibits the Largest Share
The region of Sub-Saharan Africa is home to roughly 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, more than any other part of the world, representing 51.4% of its population included in the index. The 2026 edition incorporates fresh survey data from 13 countries and offers subnational estimates for 1,360 regions across 100 nations. Changes in population figures, influenced by updated demographic data, have affected the results in countries lacking recent household surveys, leading to an addition of 15.8 million individuals to the poverty count in 95 such countries.
National trends show notable variation among countries with comparable historical data. For example, Egypt, Nepal, and Tajikistan experienced reductions both in their multidimensional poverty rates and the total number of affected individuals. Angola and Zambia also lowered their percentage of residents living in multidimensional poverty, but due to population growth, their total numbers still increased. Conversely, Nigeria saw rises in both its poverty rate and the affected population after previously showing improvements. These diverse patterns highlight that global totals can conceal significant national differences.
Persistent Declines in Poverty Seen in Several Countries
Long-term data also demonstrates meaningful declines in multidimensional poverty across various regions, with 33 out of 89 countries with available trend data reducing their MPI by at least half within 15 years. Among these, six are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini notably decreased its multidimensional poverty rate from 38.7% to 8.0%. China experienced the quickest halving among countries with available data, dropping from 9.5% to 4.2% between 2010 and 2014. Viet Nam also managed to halve its MPI score within seven years.
The 1.2 billion figure differs significantly from estimates of extreme poverty based solely on income, as multidimensional poverty encompasses multiple disadvantages that individuals may face simultaneously, such as insufficient schooling, 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 findings from 2026 emphasize children, rural communities, and Sub-Saharan Africa as the primary focus of the recent global increase in poverty levels.