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

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.

Indian states with a major role

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.

World Bank on employment

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.

(With PTI Inputs)

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