World Bank says India lifted 171 million nationals out of extreme poverty in a decade

India has lifted 171 million people out of extreme poverty between 2011-12 and 2022-23, according to the World Bank’s latest Poverty & Equity Brief released during its Spring Meetings.

The report noted that the share of Indians living on less than $2.15 a day which is the international benchmark for extreme poverty fell dramatically from 16.2% in 2011-12 to just 2.3% in 2022-23 lifting 171 million people above this line,” the World Bank said in its ‘Poverty & Equity Brief’ on India.

Rural poverty declined from 18.4% to 2.8%, while urban poverty dropped from 10.7% to 1.1%, narrowing the rural-urban gap from 7.7 to 1.7 percentage points. The brief said that India also transitioned into the lower-middle-income category. Using the $3.65 per day LMIC poverty line, poverty fell from 61.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent, lifting 378 million people out of poverty.

India’s five most populous states Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh played a major role, contributing to two-thirds of the total reduction in extreme poverty. However, these states still account for more than half of the remaining extremely and multidimensionally poor.

The report also highlighted a sharp fall in non-monetary poverty, with India’s multidimensional poverty index (MPI) falling from 53.8% in 2005-06 to 16.4% in 2019-21, indicating improvements in education, health, and living standards.

Employment trends were largely positive, with job growth outpacing the increase in working-age population since 2021-22. Urban unemployment dropped to 6.6% in Q1 FY2024-25, the lowest since 2017-18, and female employment showed notable gains. However, challenges persist, particularly in youth unemployment, which stands at 13.3%, and is significantly higher 29% among graduates.

The World Bank also pointed to a continuing gender gap in employment, with 234 million more men in paid work than women, even as self-employment and informal work dominate the rural economy.

The Poverty & Equity Briefs are published biannually and provide an overview of key poverty and inequality trends across developing countries to inform global policy discussions.