The number of people living in multidimensional poverty worldwide has risen by 51.5 million to 1.2 billion, marking the first increase since the global index was launched in 2010, according to the 2026 update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
The findings, published on Monday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford, show that more than half of those affected, or 617 million, are children, while 83% live in rural areas.
Nigeria is among the countries where earlier progress has reversed, with both the poverty rate and the number of people living in multidimensional poverty increasing in the 2020s after significant reductions during the previous decade.
Global poverty increase reflects multiple factors
Part of the increase reflects population growth. In 95 countries where no new survey data were available for the latest update, revised population estimates increased the number of people counted as multidimensionally poor by 15.8 million.
- The remaining change reflects a combination of changes in poverty incidence, demographic shifts and differences in indicator coverage across survey rounds.
UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo described the increase as a warning that requires renewed global action.
- “The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world. 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,” he said.
- De Croo added that countries had demonstrated that progress was possible when they tackled these challenges together rather than in isolation.
The global MPI measures poverty beyond income by assessing deprivation across 10 weighted indicators covering health, education and living standards. It classifies people as multidimensionally poor when they experience deprivation in at least one-third of these indicators.
The 2026 update covers 108 countries in developing regions, representing 78% of the world’s population.
Nigeria reverses earlier poverty reduction gains
Nigeria recorded significant reductions in multidimensional poverty during the 2010s, but both its poverty rate and the number of people affected increased in the 2020s, according to the report.
- Among the 13 countries with newly updated MPI estimates in the 2026 report, five recorded significant reductions in the proportion of people living in multidimensional poverty.
- Egypt, Nepal and Tajikistan recorded significant declines in both their poverty rates and the number of people affected.
Angola and Zambia also recorded declines in the share of their populations living in poverty. However, population growth outpaced poverty reduction, resulting in an increase in the total number of people affected.
Some countries halve multidimensional poverty
Despite the global increase, the report shows that substantial progress against multidimensional poverty remains possible.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 1.2 calls on countries to reduce by at least half the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its forms and dimensions by 2030.
Among 89 countries with data tracking changes in multidimensional poverty over time, 33 have halved their MPI values in fewer than 15 years, including six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
What you should know
The latest global findings come amid persistent concerns about the scale of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Nairametrics reported in November 2022 that 133 million Nigerians, representing 63% of the population, were living in multidimensional poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
- The report found that poverty was more prevalent in rural areas, affecting 72% of rural residents compared with 42% of urban residents.
- In April 2026, Nairametrics reported that Nigeria’s poverty rate rose from 56% in 2023 to 63% in 2025, equivalent to about 140 million people, according to the World Bank.
The bank attributed the trend partly to household incomes failing to keep pace with the cost of living and weak growth in agriculture, where many poor Nigerians work.