Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025

1. Introduction

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 is an international measure of acute poverty developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) in 2010. Unlike traditional poverty measures based solely on income or consumption, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 assesses poverty by examining multiple deprivations in health, education, and living standards. It helps governments identify the nature and intensity of poverty, design targeted welfare policies, and monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1: No Poverty, thereby providing a more comprehensive understanding of human well-being.

For India, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 provides an important framework for understanding Multidimensional Poverty in India beyond income-based measures. The Global MPI 2025 India findings help assess the multiple deprivations experienced by people across health, education and living standards, while the India Multidimensional Poverty Index provides an important basis for understanding India’s progress in poverty reduction.

2. Evolution of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

• Traditionally, poverty was measured mainly through income or consumption levels, which often failed to capture other forms of deprivation. The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 addresses this limitation by considering multiple dimensions of poverty.
• Economist Prof. Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach shifted the focus from income to people’s capabilities and quality of life, laying the conceptual foundation for multidimensional poverty measurement.
• Building on this approach, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index was jointly launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) in 2010.
• Since its launch, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 has become an important tool for measuring acute multidimensional poverty, monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and guiding evidence-based policymaking across developing countries.

3. Methodology of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

Dimensions and Indicators

Key Features

• The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 measures poverty across 3 dimensions using 10 indicators.
• Each dimension carries equal weight (1/3) in the overall index.
• A person is considered multidimensionally poor if deprived in one-third (33.3%) or more of the weighted indicators. The MPI is calculated using the formula:

MPI = Headcount Ratio (H) × Intensity of Poverty (A)

• Headcount Ratio (H): Percentage of people who are multidimensionally poor.
• Intensity of Poverty (A): Average share of deprivations experienced by poor.

For Multidimensional Poverty Index UPSC preparation, understanding these dimensions, indicators, headcount ratio and intensity of poverty is important for conceptual clarity.

4. Key Findings of the Global MPI 2025

• Theme: “Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards.”
• Around 1.1 billion people live in multidimensional poverty across 109 developing countries.
• Nearly 52% of the multidimensionally poor are children (below 18 years).
• About 64.5% of the poor (around 740 million people) live in middle-income countries.
• Nearly 887 million multidimensionally poor people are exposed to at least one climate hazard, while around 309 million face three or more climate hazards simultaneously.
• The report highlights a strong climate–poverty nexus, emphasising that climate change disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable communities.
• It calls for integrated policies that simultaneously address poverty reduction, climate resilience, and sustainable development.

5. India’s Performance in Global MPI

• According to the Global MPI 2025, 16.4% of India’s population is multidimensionally poor. The Global MPI 2025 India findings indicate that multidimensional poverty remains an important development challenge.
• Around 235.7 million people in India continue to experience multidimensional poverty.
• India’s MPI value stands at 0.069.
• The intensity of poverty among the multidimensionally poor is 42.0%, indicating the average share of deprivations they face.
• About 18.7% of India’s population is vulnerable to multidimensional poverty, meaning they are at risk of falling into poverty due to shocks.
• India lifted approximately 415 million people out of multidimensional poverty between 2005/06 and 2019/21, one of the fastest reductions globally.
• Significant improvements have been recorded in sanitation, electricity, housing, drinking water, cooking fuel, and school attendance.
• Despite substantial progress, challenges remain in nutrition, child health, quality education, regional disparities, and urban poverty.

6. Significance of Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

Measures Poverty Beyond Income

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 provides a comprehensive measure of poverty by assessing deprivations in health, education, and living standards, rather than relying solely on income or consumption. It captures the multiple dimensions of poverty that directly affect people’s quality of life. This makes the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 an important tool for understanding poverty beyond monetary measures.

Better Policy Targeting

The India Multidimensional Poverty Index helps governments identify who is poor, where they are poor, and the specific deprivations they face. This enables better targeting of welfare schemes and more efficient allocation of public resources. The findings on Multidimensional Poverty in India can therefore support more focused and effective poverty reduction policies.

Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 supports monitoring of SDG 1 (No Poverty) and other related goals on health, education, clean water, sanitation, and inequality, thereby assisting governments in tracking development outcomes.

Identifying Regional Disparities

The MPI highlights state-wise, district-wise, and regional variations in poverty, enabling policymakers to focus on the most deprived regions and vulnerable population groups. This is particularly important for addressing Multidimensional Poverty in India through region-specific interventions.

Evidence-Based Policymaking

The index provides reliable data for designing, implementing, and evaluating poverty alleviation programmes. It supports data-driven governance and improves the effectiveness of public policies.

International Comparison

Since the Global MPI follows a common methodology, it enables meaningful comparisons of multidimensional poverty across countries and helps assess global progress in poverty reduction. For Multidimensional Poverty Index UPSC preparation, its methodology and significance are important for understanding how poverty is measured beyond income.

8. Government Initiatives for Poverty Reduction

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 highlights the importance of improving health, education, and living standards. In India, several government initiatives address these dimensions of poverty:

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY): Provides affordable housing to eligible households and improves housing conditions.
• Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM): Aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections, helping reduce deprivation related to drinking water.
• Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): Focuses on sanitation, toilet construction, and improved hygiene practices.
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): Provides LPG connections to eligible households and promotes access to cleaner cooking fuel.
• Ayushman Bharat – PM-JAY: Provides health insurance coverage to eligible poor and vulnerable families, supporting access to healthcare.
• Poshan Abhiyaan: Focuses on improving nutritional outcomes among children, women, and other vulnerable groups.
• Samagra Shiksha: Supports school education and aims to improve access, quality, and learning outcomes.
• National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013: Provides subsidised foodgrains to eligible beneficiaries and strengthens food security.
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): Promotes financial inclusion by providing access to basic banking services and supporting vulnerable households.
• Aspirational Districts Programme: Focuses on improving development outcomes in relatively underdeveloped districts through targeted and outcome-based interventions.

These initiatives complement the objectives measured by the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 by addressing multiple dimensions of deprivation rather than focusing only on income.

8. Challenges and Limitations of Global MPI

Does Not Measure Income Poverty

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 focuses on multiple non-monetary deprivations and does not directly measure income or consumption poverty. Therefore, MPI cannot completely replace monetary poverty measures and should be used alongside them for a comprehensive assessment of poverty.

Dependence on Survey Data

The calculation of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 depends heavily on household survey data. Differences in survey years, data quality, and availability across countries can affect the comparability of results.

Household-Level Measurement

The MPI generally uses household-level information, which may not fully capture inequalities among individuals within the same household. For example, different members may experience different levels of deprivation in nutrition, education, or access to resources.

Limited Coverage of Emerging Deprivations

Although the MPI covers important dimensions such as health, education, and living standards, it may not fully capture emerging forms of deprivation, including digital exclusion, employment insecurity, and other vulnerabilities.

Uniform Global Methodology

A common methodology helps in international comparison, but it may not capture country-specific and regional characteristics of poverty. Different countries may face different social, economic, environmental, and institutional challenges.

Persistent Regional Disparities

Despite progress in reducing poverty, significant regional and social disparities continue to exist. Some areas and vulnerable groups experience multiple and overlapping deprivations. The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 therefore highlights the need for targeted, region-specific, and inclusive poverty reduction strategies.

9. Recent Developments (Updated till 2025–26)

• The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 was released with the theme “Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards.” The report highlights the growing connection between multidimensional poverty and exposure to climate-related hazards.
• According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025, 1.1 billion people across 109 developing countries are living in multidimensional poverty.
• Around 887 million multidimensionally poor people are exposed to at least one climate hazard, while approximately 309 million are exposed to three or more climate hazards.
• The findings highlight the climate-poverty nexus, showing that poor populations are often disproportionately vulnerable to climate-related risks.
• In India, the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 estimates that 16.4% of the population is multidimensionally poor, with significant improvements recorded over the past two decades.
• India has made substantial progress through improvements in sanitation, housing, electricity, drinking water, clean cooking fuel, and education, contributing to a significant reduction in multidimensional poverty.
• The latest findings emphasize that policymakers need to adopt targeted, integrated, and evidence-based welfare policies that address poverty while also strengthening resilience against climate hazards.
• The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 therefore provides an important framework for understanding how different forms of deprivation overlap and how poverty reduction strategies can be aligned with sustainable development goals.

11. Conclusion

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 provides a comprehensive assessment of poverty by measuring overlapping deprivations in health, education, and living standards. It goes beyond income-based measures and helps governments understand the nature, intensity, and distribution of poverty. The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 is therefore an important tool for evidence-based policymaking and for monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

India has made significant progress in reducing multidimensional poverty over the past two decades, with improvements in sanitation, housing, electricity, drinking water, clean cooking fuel, and education. However, challenges related to nutrition, quality education, healthcare, regional disparities, and climate vulnerability remain. Addressing these challenges requires a people-centric, inclusive, and data-driven approach to poverty reduction.

BPSC Mains Practice Question

Q1. What is the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025? Discuss its methodology and evaluate India’s performance in the index. Suggest suitable measures to address multidimensional poverty in India.

Learn More from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2025 is published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). For detailed reports and official information on multidimensional poverty, readers can visit the official UNDP website.