What is the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index?

The global MPI shows who they are, where they live, and what deprivations hold them back from achieving the well-being they deserve.

The global MPI is a key international resource that measures acute multidimensional poverty across more than 100 developing countries (box 1). First launched in 2010 by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford and the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme, the global MPI advances SDG 1 — ending poverty in all its forms everywhere — and measures interconnected deprivations across indicators related to SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 11.

How is the Global MPI Computed?

The computation of the global MPI begins by constructing a deprivation profile for each household and person in it, covering 10 indicators of health, education, and standard of living (figure 1).

For example, a household and all people living in it are deprived if any child is stunted or any child or adult for whom data are available is underweight;

if any child died in the past five years;

if any school-aged child is not attending school up to the age at which they would complete class 8;

if no household member has completed six years of schooling;

if the household lacks access to electricity;

if the household lacks an improved source of drinking water within a 30-minute round trip;

if the household lacks an improved sanitation facility that is not shared;

if the household lacks nonsolid cooking fuel;

if the household lacks durable housing materials;

or if the household does not own more than one of these assets: a radio, animal cart, phone, television, computer, refrigerator, bicycle, motorcycle, or car.

All indicators are equally weighted within each dimension, so the health and education indicators are weighted 1/6 each, and the standard of living indicators are weighted 1/18 each. A person’s deprivation score is the sum of the weighted deprivations they experience.

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The global MPI identifies people as multidimensionally poor if their deprivation score is 1/3 or higher (Case 2).

Also Read: Poverty amid Conflict I India CSR

Table 1: Global MPI Overview

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How is the MPI Value Calculated?

MPI values are the product of the incidence (H, or the proportion of people who live in multidimensional poverty) and intensity of poverty (A, or the average deprivation score among multidimensionally poor people). Put simply, MPI = H × A. MPI values range from 0 to 1, and higher values imply higher poverty. Global MPI values decline when fewer people are poor or when poor people have fewer deprivations. The precise definition of each indicator is available online, together with any country-specific adjustments and the computer code used to calculate the global MPI value for each country. By identifying who is poor, the nature of their poverty (their deprivation profile), and how poor they are (their deprivation score), the global MPI complements the international $2.15 a day poverty rate, bringing into view interlinked nonmonetary deprivations.

Table 2: Indicators and Deprivations

Case 1: Data Used to Compute the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

The 2024 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) uses the most recent comparable data available for 112 countries — 21 low-income countries, 47 lower middle-income countries, 40 upper middle-income countries, and 4 high-income countries.

Who Are the Poor and Where Do They Live?

The global MPI shows who they are, where they live, and what deprivations hold them back from achieving the well-being they deserve. Global MPI values, incidence, and intensity of poverty, and component indicators are disaggregated for 1,359 subnational regions (for 102 countries), as well as by age group, rural–urban area, and gender of the household head. The estimates are based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys for 55 countries, Demographic and Health Surveys for 44 countries, and national surveys for 13 countries. The year of the surveys ranges from 2011/2012 to 2023.

Recent Data Updates

For 97 countries, home to 89.6 percent of poor people, data were fielded in 2015 or later — after the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted. Of these, 51 countries, home to 60.0 percent of poor people, have data fielded in 2019 or later. However, data from only 19 countries were collected as recently as 2021/2022 or later. These 19 countries are home to more than 723 million people, or around 11.5 percent of the 6.3 billion people globally, and include countries from every world region.

2024 MPI Updates for 20 Countries

The 2024 global MPI provides updated estimates for 20 countries: Afghanistan (2022/2023), Benin (2021/2022), Bhutan (2022), Burkina Faso (2021), Comoros (2022), Côte d’Ivoire (2021), Kingdom of Eswatini (2021/2022), Gabon (2019/2021), Ghana (2022), Kenya (2022), Mexico (2022), Mozambique (2022/2023), Nepal (2022), Peru (2022), the Philippines (2022), the United Republic of Tanzania (2022), Thailand (2022), Trinidad and Tobago (2022), Tunisia (2023), and Yemen (2022/2023).

Trends in MPI Values

Trends in global MPI values are available for 86 countries using data from 2001 to 2023 (see table 2 at the end of the report). Of these countries, 40 have harmonized data for two points in time, 36 have data for three points in time, 6 have data for four points in time, 3 (Ghana, Mexico, and Peru) have data for five points in time, and 1 (Nepal) has data for six points in time. Of the 20 updated countries, 19 had harmonized MPI data, with only Bhutan missing harmonized MPI data. Harmonized trends are also available by subnational regions, age groups, and rural–urban areas. Disaggregated trends help in monitoring the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: to leave no one behind.

Challenges in Data Availability

More frequent global MPI data are a strategic investment but are especially lacking in the poorest countries, where data can be well over 10 years out of date. For example, Niger (2012) is the poorest of the 112 countries and the poorest in Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan (2014) is the poorest in the Arab States, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2011/2012) is the second-poorest country in Europe and Central Asia. In each case, their poverty data are out of date. Some 13 countries — Barbados (2012), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2011/2012), China (2014), Egypt (2014), El Salvador (2014), Libya (2014), the Republic of Moldova (2012), Namibia (2013), Nicaragua (2011/2012), Niger (2012), Saint Lucia (2012), Sudan (2014), and Ukraine (2012) — have data that are at least a decade old, highlighting the urgent need to update their poverty data.

Table 3: Data Used for 2024 MPI

Case 2: Nyakume’s Story and What the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index Measures

Nyakume’s Life in a Displaced Persons Camp

In the heart of the Mangateen internally displaced persons camp on the outskirts of Juba in the capital of South Sudan, a 22-year-old woman named Nyakume embodies resilience amid adversity. Forced to seek refuge at the camp following tribal conflicts at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Protection of Civilians Camp in Juba, Nyakume now shares a modest shelter with her father, stepmother, seven siblings, and four extended family members, including her disabled cousin, within the congested settlement of more than 14,000 internally displaced persons.

From Stability to Struggle

Originally hailing from a more stable life prior to the 2013 conflict in South Sudan and living in a comfortable home in Hai Referendum in Juba, Nyakume and her family now live in a dwelling that comprises three structures, fashioned from bamboo, wooden poles, mud, and tattered plastic canvas, serving as a stark reminder of the upheaval they have endured. Nyakume’s father, a college graduate and a former government employee, now toils as a security guard at a nearby nongovernmental organization, striving to support his family in their new reality at the internally displaced persons camp.

Challenges After Returning from Kakuma Refugee Camp

Following disruptions caused by the 2013 conflict, a portion of Nyakume’s family sought refuge in the Kakuma Refugee Camp from 2015 to 2022 for better access to essential services. However, economic challenges and high inflation prompted their return to Juba and to the UNMISS camp. Nyakume’s family faces food scarcity, with limited access to regular meals and simple amenities. Nyakume’s household is classified as nutritionally deprived because several members under 70 years of age are undernourished, per anthropometric measurements, due to prolonged food shortages.

Additional Challenges in the Camp

The absence of electricity, clean water, and proper sanitation facilities in the camp poses additional challenges. To fetch water, Nyakume and her sisters embark on arduous one-hour roundtrip journeys to a communal well, where they often must wait in a long queue. Charcoal and firewood are the primary sources of cooking energy for the family. The family does not own any basic assets apart from two mobile phones.

Nyakume’s Hopes and Aspirations

Despite these hardships, Nyakume’s unwavering spirit shines through as she dreams of a brighter future, aspiring to pursue higher education to support her family and contribute to a more stable livelihood. All the children in the household have stopped attending school because the family can no longer afford tuition. As she navigates the uncertainties of displacement, Nyakume holds onto hope for a peaceful South Sudan and envisions a path towards empowerment and opportunity for herself and her loved ones.

How the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index Measures Nyakume’s Deprivations

According to the global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Nyakume and her family are poor. Their household deprivation score is 66.66 percent [1/6 + 1/6 + 6 × 1/18 = 2/3]. To be considered nonpoor, their deprivation score would need to be less than 33.3 percent.

Table 4: Nyakume’s Deprivations

Figure 1: Structure of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

Dimensions and Indicators of Poverty

Details of Each Dimension

• Health:
  • Nutrition: Measures malnutrition among household members.
  • Child Mortality: Indicates whether any child in the household has died in the past five years.
• Education:
  • Years of Schooling: Measures if any household member has completed six years of schooling.
  • School Attendance: Assesses if school-aged children are attending school.
• Living Standards:
  • Cooking Fuel: Evaluates the type of cooking fuel used (e.g., nonsolid fuel).
  • Sanitation: Indicates access to improved sanitation facilities that are not shared.
  • Drinking Water: Measures access to improved drinking water within a 30-minute round trip.
  • Electricity: Determines if the household has access to electricity.
  • Housing: Assesses the durability of housing materials.
  • Assets: Checks ownership of basic assets, such as radio, phone, bicycle, etc.

Source: HDRO and OPHI

This structured visualization helps to clearly convey how the Global MPI measures different aspects of poverty through its three dimensions: health, education, and living standards. Each dimension is broken down into specific indicators that give a comprehensive profile of a household’s living conditions.

Notes

1. South Sudan was previously included in the global Multidimensional Poverty Index tables and had the highest incidence of poverty (91.9 percent), based on its 2010 dataset. It has not appeared in the global MPI tables since 2023 because its data are out of date. The data revolution should not leave poverty data behind — especially for the poorest countries.
2. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index does not account for internally displaced persons because it relies on household data surveys. However, multidimensional poverty impacts internally displaced persons, and better data and monitoring are needed to understand their experiences and address their specific needs.