Society-and-social-justice / Poverty / Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is an international measure of poverty that takes into account various dimensions of poverty, including health, education, and living standards.  

  • The areas assessed under the multidimensional poverty index include education, health, and standard of living, with indicators such as years of schooling, child enrollment, child mortality, nutrition, access to electricity, flooring, drinking water, sanitation, cooking fuel, and assets.  
  • India has made significant progress in reducing poverty between 2006 and 2016, lifting 271 million people out of poverty, as evidenced by the fastest reduction in multidimensional poverty index values during this period, with notable improvements in areas such as assets, cooking fuel, sanitation, and nutrition.  
  • Ten selected countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Vietnam, have shown progress towards achieving SDG-1, which aims to end poverty in all its forms, everywhere.  
  • India, along with Cambodia, achieved the fastest reduction in MPI values among the selected countries and did not leave behind the poorest groups. 

 

Here are some key findings related to India and the world from the latest report: 

India: 

  • As of 2021, 27.9% of the population in India (364 million people) are multidimensionally poor. 
  • Poverty is particularly acute in rural areas, where 33.6% of the population are multidimensionally poor compared to 23.5% in urban areas. 
  • The percentage of the population living in poverty has decreased from 55.9% in 2005/06 to 27.9% in 2020/21.

World: 

  • As of 2021, 1.3 billion people (17.6% of the world's population) are multidimensionally poor. 
  • Poverty is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa, where 54.3% of the population is multidimensionally poor, followed by South Asia at 27.9%. 
  • Women and girls are disproportionately affected by poverty, with 18.7% of women and girls living in multidimensional poverty compared to 16.5% of men and boys. 
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has increased global poverty rates, with an additional 50 million people expected to be pushed into poverty in 2020 alone. 

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) uses a methodology that incorporates data on several dimensions of poverty to measure poverty at the household level. The methodology was developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

The MPI takes into account three dimensions of poverty: health, education, and living standards. Within each dimension, several indicators are used to assess poverty. For example, the health dimension includes indicators such as child mortality and nutrition, while the education dimension includes indicators such as school attendance and years of schooling. The living standards dimension includes indicators such as access to clean water and sanitation, electricity, and housing quality. 

The MPI combines information from these indicators to generate a poverty score for each household. A household is classified as multidimensionally poor if it is deprived in at least one-third of the weighted indicators. The weights of the indicators and the poverty cutoff are determined based on national or regional poverty lines. 

The MPI allows for comparisons of poverty levels across countries and regions, as well as over time. It provides policymakers with a comprehensive measure of poverty that takes into account various dimensions of poverty and can help guide interventions to reduce poverty and promote inclusive development. 

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