Poverty in India: Facts & Figures.
Explore current data on monetary poverty, multidimensional deprivation, rural and urban differences, regional concentration, inequality and employment in India.
India has more than one valid measure of poverty.
Monetary poverty measures whether household consumption falls below a specified threshold. The World Bank publishes internationally comparable poverty lines using purchasing power parity.
India’s National Multidimensional Poverty Index uses a different approach. It considers simultaneous deprivation across health, education and standard of living.
These measures answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable.
India poverty indicators at a glance.
A substantial decline between 2011–12 and 2022–23.
The World Bank’s comparable consumption-based estimates show major reductions at both current international poverty thresholds.
| Poverty measure | 2011–12 | 2022–23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3 international extreme-poverty line | 27.1% | 5.3% | −21.8 percentage points |
| $4.20 lower-middle-income poverty line | 57.7% | 23.9% | −33.8 percentage points |
Poverty declined strongly in both settings.
At the $4.20 lower-middle-income poverty line, rural poverty remains higher than urban poverty, although both fell sharply over the decade.
Measuring deprivation beyond money.
The National Multidimensional Poverty Index identifies people experiencing simultaneous deprivation across health, education and standard of living.
NITI Aayog’s measured headcount fell from 24.85% in 2015–16 to 14.96% in 2019–21.
A subsequent NITI Aayog discussion paper estimates that multidimensional poverty declined further to 11.28% in 2022–23.
Twelve indicators across three dimensions.
Poverty is increasingly concentrated.
National averages hide substantial differences between states.
The World Bank reports that almost half of India’s people living below the $4.20 line were concentrated in just three states in 2022–23.
This makes place an important part of poverty policy. Economic opportunity, public services, infrastructure and labour markets differ considerably across India.
Labour-market progress has not removed every vulnerability.
Employment has grown, but job quality, skills matching and economic participation continue to shape how securely people benefit from India’s growth.
Poverty reduction and inequality are not the same thing.
A country can reduce poverty while still experiencing large differences in income, wealth or earnings.
The World Bank’s consumption-based measures suggest lower inequality in 2022–23 than in 2011–12, while other datasets based on income indicate substantially greater inequality.
Different datasets measure different concepts, so inequality figures should be interpreted with care.
Where these figures come from.
Put the figures into context.
Data describes the problem. People create the response.
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