Humanitarian aid
Multidimensional Poverty climbs to 1.2 billion, highlighting urgent need for coordinated action
The UNDP 2026 Multidimensional Poverty Index shows 1.2 billion people in poverty – 51.5 million more than 2025 – with 617 million children and 83 % living in rural areas, underscoring a widening humanitarian challenge.
Scale of the setback and who is most affected
The 2026 update of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) records 1.2 billion people as multidimensionally poor, an increase of 51.5 million compared with the 2025 figures. Children represent more than half of this total, with 617 million lacking adequate health, education or living‑standard conditions. Rural residents dominate the profile, accounting for 83 percent of those counted. The index covers 108 countries, together representing roughly 78 percent of the world’s population, and shows that sub‑Saharan Africa and South Asia bear the bulk of deprivations across the ten health, education and standard‑of‑living indicators.
Population dynamics and mixed national trends
Population growth contributed to part of the rise. In the 95 countries where fresh household surveys were unavailable, updated population estimates added nearly 16 million people to the poverty count. In the 13 countries with new survey data, the increase reflects both a genuine rise in poverty incidence and demographic change, as well as variations in indicator coverage. Some nations display mixed outcomes: Egypt, Nepal, Tajikistan, Angola and Zambia reduced the share of people living in multidimensional poverty, yet rapid population growth in Angola and Zambia meant their absolute numbers still grew. Nigeria, after notable reductions in the 2010s, now shows a reversal with both higher poverty rates and larger numbers of people in poverty.
Achieving the SDG poverty target
The 2030 Sustainable Development Goal aims to halve the proportion of people living in poverty, a target the UN still regards as attainable. Evidence of rapid progress exists: 33 countries have cut their MPI value by at least half in under 15 years, including six in sub‑Saharan Africa. Eswatini lowered its multidimensional poverty share from nearly 39 percent to eight percent, while China halved its MPI from 9.5 percent to 4.2 percent between 2010 and 2014. UNDP officials stress that coordinated, country‑wide strategies—rather than isolated interventions—are essential to replicate such gains and reverse the current upward trend.