Over 415 Million Indians Came Out of Poverty in Last 15 Years: Report

The United Nations Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in its latest report revealed that around 415 million people in India exited poverty within a span of 15 years (2005 – 2021).

The report pointed out that India is among the 25 countries which successfully halved its global MPI values within 15 years. The other nations which achieved this feat are China, Cambodia, Congo, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia and Vietnam.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that the analysis is based on trends from 2000 to 2022 covering 81 countries with comparable data over time.

The global MPI focuses on both poverty reduction and how people experience poverty. It is mapped through several aspects of their daily lives. This includes access to education and health, living standards such as housing, drinking water, sanitation and electricity.

The report unveiled that poverty fell from 55% (645 million) in 2005/2006 to 16% (230 million) in 2019/2021. It said that people in India who are multidimensionally poor and deprived under the nutrition indicator fell from 44% in 2005-06 to 12% in 2019/21.

It also showed that the child mortality rate declined from 4% to 1.5%. The number of people deprived of cooking fuel declined from 53% to 14% and those not receiving proper sanitation declined from 50% to 11.3%. India also made remarkable progress in the drinking water category as those lacking proper drinking water fell from 16% to 3% and those with no access to electricity fell from 29%to 2% and people who lacked adequate housing decreased from 44% to 14%.

“India saw a remarkable reduction in poverty. Large numbers of people were lifted out of poverty in China (2010-14, 69 million) and Indonesia (2012-17, 8 million),” the UNDP said in a statement, highlighting that the deprivation in all indicators declined in India.

It also said that the disadvantaged groups across all ages experience fastest absolute progress.

The report released Tuesday by the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at University of Oxford also said that at least 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people live in acute multidimensional poverty across 110 countries. Five out of every six poor people live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the report revealed.

(with inputs from Shalinder Wangu)