More than one-third of Pakistan’s population faces overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards, according to the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) latest Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
The report estimates that 38.3 percent of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty, compared with 16.4 percent in India and 14.9 percent in Bangladesh. However, the figures are based on household surveys conducted in different years and do not provide a direct comparison for the same period.
The intensity of deprivation among Pakistanis classified as multidimensionally poor stands at 51.7 percent, while another 12.9 percent of the population is vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.
Unlike measures based solely on income, the index assesses overlapping disadvantages in areas including nutrition, child mortality, schooling, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and household assets.
Global Poverty Rises First Time in 15 Years
The report also points to a global reversal, with the number of people living in multidimensional poverty rising for the first time in 15 years to 1.2 billion.
The latest estimate is 51.5 million higher than the previous update. Children account for more than half of those affected, with 617 million living in multidimensional poverty. About 83 percent of people experiencing such poverty live in rural areas.
South Asia accounts for a substantial share of global deprivation, representing at least one-third of deprivations in nutrition, housing and years of schooling, according to the report.
The region is also home to 150 million poor people living in households where a school-aged child is not attending school.
UNDP estimates that approximately 19.3 percent of South Asia’s population lives in multidimensional poverty, while another 18.4 percent is vulnerable to it.
Living standards account for 36.3 percent of regional multidimensional poverty, education for 33.7 percent and health for 29.9 percent.
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