New York (Axadle) Global multidimensional poverty has climbed to 1.2 billion people, marking the first rise since the benchmark index was introduced in 2010, a new report from the United Nations Development Programme and the University of Oxford says.
The 2026 report said 51.5 million more people are now living in acute poverty compared with the previous update. Children make up 617 million of those affected, and 83% of people experiencing multidimensional poverty live in rural areas.
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The index tracks overlapping hardships in health, education and living standards, from access to clean water and electricity to years of schooling. It spans 108 developing countries, covering 78% of the global population.
“The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world,” said Alexander De Croo, administrator of the U.N. Development Programme, who said coordinated action could still help turn the trend around.
The report cited population growth as one factor behind the increase, though progress continued in several countries. Egypt, Nepal and Tajikistan cut both poverty rates and the total number of people affected, while Angola and Zambia reduced poverty rates even as their overall numbers rose.
Nigeria, after recording notable advances during the 2010s, saw those gains reverse in the 2020s, with increases in both its poverty rate and the number of people living in poverty.
The findings also showed that 33 of 89 countries with comparable data halved their index values in less than 15 years. China did so in four years, while Eswatini brought the share of people living in multidimensional poverty down to 8% from 38.7% over 15 years.
