Overview
- The UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative reported on Monday, Oct. 12 that the 2026 Multidimensional Poverty Index shows 1.2 billion people in acute multidimensional poverty, an increase of 51.5 million from the prior update.
- Children bear a disproportionate share of the rise, with about 617 million of the multidimensionally poor being under 18, and roughly 83 percent of those in poverty living in rural areas where basic services are weakest.
- UNDP says much of the year-to-year jump reflects demographic growth and limited new survey data rather than uniform backsliding, noting new household surveys were available for only 13 of the 108 countries covered and revised population estimates added millions in countries without fresh data.
- Country results are mixed: 33 nations halved their MPI values in under 15 years with China and Vietnam among the fastest improvers, while some countries such as Nigeria saw rising rates and others like Angola and Zambia reduced poverty rates but saw higher absolute counts because of population growth.
- The findings complicate efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goal 1.2 and point to policy needs that would change lives now, including expanded basic services, stronger social protection, and targeted child nutrition and education programs to prevent intergenerational deprivation.