The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the University of Oxford have released the latest 2026 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report. According to the report, the number of people living in multidimensional poverty across health, education, and living standards has increased for the first time since the MPI was introduced in 2010, reaching 1.2 billion people. This is an increase of 51.5 million from the 2025 edition.

The MPI is an index that measures overlapping deprivations not only in income but also in health, education, and living standards. It uses 10 indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, access to electricity, drinking water and sanitation, and living standards. People who are deprived in one-third or more of these indicators are considered to be in “multidimensional poverty.”

The 2026 edition covers 108 countries that together account for 78% of the world’s population. Of the 1.2 billion people in multidimensional poverty, more than half (617 million) are children, and 83% live in rural areas.

One factor behind the increase in multidimensional poverty is population growth. Population increases that outpace efforts to improve living standards have resulted in a rise in poverty.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on countries to cut all forms of poverty in half by 2030. Although it will be challenging, the UNDP still views this target as achievable even for those in multidimensional poverty.

Of the 89 countries with time-series MPI data, 33 have halved their MPI in less than 15 years, including six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Eswatini has made particularly remarkable progress over 15 years, reducing the share of people in multidimensional poverty from 38.7% to 8.0%. Among countries with available data, China has recorded the fastest improvement, cutting the share of people in multidimensional poverty from 9.5% to 4.2% in just four years between 2010 and 2014.

Building on these success stories, the UNDP is being called upon to respond to what it describes as an “emergency” of rising multidimensional poverty.

Residential area in Ghana (Photo: Jenny / Flickr [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0])