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The number of people living in acute multidimensional poverty has reached 1.2 billion — an increase of 51.5 million compared with the previous update — marking the first rise in the indicator since the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was launched in 2010. The figures appear in the 2026 MPI report jointly prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford.
More than half of those counted among the multidimensionally poor — 617 million people — are children. A further 83% of the poor population live in rural areas, underscoring the geographic concentration of deprivation. The report covers 108 countries across developing regions, together home to 78% of the world’s population, and measures both the prevalence and intensity of poverty rather than simply its headcount.
What the index measures
Unlike conventional income-based poverty lines, the Global MPI captures the range of deprivations people face in daily life. A person is classified as multidimensionally poor if they are deprived in at least one-third of ten weighted indicators spanning health, education and living standards — including access to clean water, electricity and schooling. UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo described the rise as a worrying signal for the international community, noting that behind the statistics are people simultaneously facing hunger and lacking access to basic services.
De Croo argued that the situation, while serious, is not irreversible, pointing to countries that addressed deprivations comprehensively rather than in isolation as evidence that decisive action can produce measurable results.
Why the numbers rose
The report attributes the increase to two distinct factors. In 95 countries for which no new household surveys were conducted in 2026, updated population estimates alone added an estimated 15.8 million people to the global poverty count. The remaining increase reflects a combination of shifts in actual poverty levels, demographic change and differences in indicator coverage between survey rounds across the 13 countries whose MPI estimates were updated this year.
Mixed results among updated countries
Among the 13 countries with updated estimates, the picture is uneven. Five recorded substantial reductions in the share of their populations living in multidimensional poverty. Egypt, Nepal and Tajikistan — the Central Asian neighbour with close economic and social ties to Uzbekistan — each achieved reductions in both the poverty rate and the absolute number of people experiencing related deprivations, a more demanding standard than rate reduction alone.
Angola and Zambia present a cautionary contrast: the proportion of people living in poverty fell in both countries, but population growth outpaced the rate of reduction, meaning the total number of people in poverty continued to rise even as conditions improved on a per-capita basis.
Nigeria illustrates how gains can be lost. After substantially reducing multidimensional poverty during the 2010s, the country experienced a reversal in the 2020s, with both the poverty rate and the number of people experiencing deprivations increasing. The report treats Nigeria as a warning that progress is not self-sustaining without continued policy commitment.
Rapid progress is possible
The report also documents cases of exceptional speed. Among 89 countries with comparable trend data, 33 managed to halve their MPI value in fewer than 15 years; six of these are in sub-Saharan Africa. China recorded the fastest reduction in the dataset, halving its MPI value in just four years: the share of its population living in multidimensional poverty fell from 9.5% to 4.2% between 2010 and 2014. Vietnam halved its MPI value in seven years, while Eswatini reduced the share of its population in multidimensional poverty from 38.7% to 8% over 15 years.
The 2030 target remains within reach
Target 1.2 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals requires at least halving the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its forms by 2030. The 2026 MPI update concludes that this goal remains challenging but achievable, citing the countries that have already met or are on course to meet the threshold as proof that the trajectory can be changed. The report’s authors argue that integrated approaches — addressing health, education and living standards simultaneously rather than sequentially — have consistently produced stronger outcomes than sector-by-sector interventions.