India lifts 17.1 crore out of extreme poverty in a decade, says World Bank

New Delhi, Apr 27: In what is being hailed as one of the most remarkable development milestones of the past decade, India has lifted 171 million or 17.1 crore people out of extreme poverty, according to the World Bank’s Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief. The report recognizes India’s “decisive fight against poverty,” with the proportion of people living on less than $2.15 or Rs 185 a day plummeting from 16.2% in 2011–12 to just 2.3% in 2022–23.

A press release from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (PIB) on Saturday described the achievement as “a testament to the Government of India’s unwavering commitment to inclusive development and poverty eradication, spanning both rural and urban landscapes.”

The World Bank’s findings highlighted the broad-based nature of the decline. Rural extreme poverty fell from 18.4% to 2.8%, while urban poverty dropped from 10.7% to 1.1% over the same period. The gap between rural and urban poverty, once 7.7 percentage points, has narrowed sharply to 1.7 points, reflecting an annual decline rate of 16%.

The Poverty and Equity Brief is part of the World Bank’s biannual series tracking poverty, shared prosperity, and inequality across over 100 developing nations. The briefs provide snapshots using multiple benchmarks, including the extreme poverty line at $2.15, or Rs 185, the lower-middle-income line at $3.65, around Rs 300 and the upper-middle-income line at $6.85. around Rs 560.

Beyond extreme poverty, India has also made major strides at the lower-middle-income level. According to the World Bank, poverty at the $3.65 or Rs 300 per day benchmark fell from 61.8% in 2011–12 to 28.1% in 2022–23, lifting an additional 378 million people out of poverty. “This broad-based growth across both rural and urban areas demonstrates the success of India’s targeted reforms,” the PIB statement noted.

The report highlights that the five most populous states—Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh—accounted for 65% of India’s extreme poor in 2011–12 but also contributed two-thirds of the overall decline in extreme poverty by 2022–23.

Progress has not been limited to income metrics. India’s non-monetary poverty, measured through the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), saw a dramatic fall from 53.8% in 2005–06 to 16.4% by 2019–21. The World Bank’s own multidimensional poverty measure showed a decline to 15.5% in 2022–23, reflecting significant improvements in health, education, and living standards.

Looking ahead, the World Bank has updated poverty estimates based on revised global standards. With the adoption of 2021 Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs), the extreme poverty rate for India in 2022–23 is expected to be 5.3%, while the lower-middle-income poverty rate is projected at 23.9%.

Encouragingly, income inequality also showed signs of easing. India’s consumption-based Gini index improved from 28.8 in 2011–12 to 25.5 in 2022–23, indicating a modest but meaningful narrowing of the income gap.

The World Bank also observed positive trends in employment growth, particularly since 2021–22. According to the PIB release, “employment growth has outpaced the working-age population, with significant gains in female participation and a record-low urban unemployment rate of 6.6% in Q1 FY24/25—the lowest since 2017–18.”

The employment landscape is also shifting. For the first time since 2018–19, male workers are migrating more to urban areas, while rural female employment in agriculture has grown, reflecting evolving workforce patterns.

In conclusion, the World Bank’s report highlights India’s progress on poverty reduction and inclusive growth. “These achievements serve as a solid foundation for India’s continued efforts to build a more equitable and prosperous society,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.