Kenya: 1 in 4 Kenyans Lives in Multidimensional Poverty - UNDP

Nairobi — One in four Kenyans continues to experience multidimensional poverty, with millions more at risk of falling into deprivation, highlighting the challenges facing the country despite performing better than the Sub-Saharan African average, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

Kenya's multidimensional poverty rate stands at 25.4 per cent, equivalent to approximately 13.75 million people based on household survey data collected in 2022.

The latest available country profile by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) also identifies a further 26.4 per cent of Kenya's population -- approximately 14.33 million people in 2022 -- as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.

These individuals experience significant deprivation but fall below the threshold used to classify people as multidimensionally poor.

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A further 7.5 per cent of Kenyans were classified as living in severe multidimensional poverty, meaning they experienced deprivation in at least half of the weighted indicators used to calculate the index.

The figures present a mixed picture: Kenya performs substantially better than the Sub-Saharan African average, but millions remain deprived, while the proportion of Kenyans experiencing multidimensional poverty remains above the global benchmark.

The findings underline the need to sustain progress in healthcare, education, sanitation, housing and access to essential household services, while addressing vulnerabilities that could push more people into poverty.

Sub-Saharan Africa bears the heaviest burden

The 2026 MPI report estimates that 1.2 billion people across 108 countries live in acute multidimensional poverty, representing 18.9 per cent of the population covered by the index.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, with the report estimating that 51.4 per cent of the region's population experiences such deprivation.

The regional figures underscore the scale of the challenge facing African countries, even as Kenya's 25.4 per cent estimate places it below the regional benchmark.

Unlike conventional poverty measures based primarily on income, the MPI assesses overlapping disadvantages across three dimensions: health, education and living standards.

Its indicators include nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and household assets.

Children and rural households hardest hit

The global report highlights the disproportionate burden of multidimensional poverty on children and rural populations.

Of the 1.2 billion people identified as multidimensionally poor, approximately 617 million are children, accounting for 51.5 per cent of the total. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of people living in multidimensional poverty reside in rural areas.

UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo said the rise in global multidimensional poverty should prompt urgent action.

"The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world," De Croo said.

"Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity. This is unacceptable. But it does not have to be this way. We know progress is possible."

De Croo said countries that tackled these challenges together, rather than in isolation, had demonstrated what determined action could achieve.

Progress remains possible

Despite the global increase, the report highlights examples of countries that have substantially reduced multidimensional poverty through sustained interventions.

It says 33 countries halved their MPI values in fewer than 15 years, including six in Sub-Saharan Africa.

China recorded the fastest reduction among countries with available data, halving its MPI value in four years.

The proportion of China's population living in multidimensional poverty fell from 9.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent between 2010 and 2014.

Vietnam also halved its MPI value within seven years.