Historical chart and dataset showing India poverty rate by year from 1977 to 2022.

As of 2024, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) index score for reducing poverty (SDG 1) ranges between 39 and 92 for Indian states and union territories. Among the states, Tamil Nadu and Telangana were the front-runners with a score of 92 and 91. Among the union territories, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu were the front-runner with a score of 89.

In 2021, over 12 percent of India's population was living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. When the 3.65 U.S. dollars per day threshold is considered, the share increased to over 44 percent.

In financial year 2023, Uttar Pradesh, India's most populated state had over 32 percent people living under the poverty line of 3.20 U.S. dollars per day. A decade ago the state had over 67 percent of its population living under the threshold. The state of Bihar also witnessed a significant reduction in poverty rates from over 69 percent in the financial year 2012 to over 23 percent in the financial year 2023.

In 2022, the total male population living in poverty in India was about ** million. By contrast, the number of females in poverty during the same time period was around ** million.

As of 2022, over 13 million children between the ages of 10 to 14 years were affected by poverty. In general, age groups from 0 to 19 years were most impacted by extreme poverty.

Pakistan poverty rate for 2018 was 88.40%, a 1% increase from 2015.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Pakistan poverty rate for 2015 was <strong>87.40%</strong>, a <strong>2.6% decline</strong> from 2013.</li>
<li>Pakistan poverty rate for 2013 was <strong>90.00%</strong>, a <strong>1.8% decline</strong> from 2011.</li>
<li>Pakistan poverty rate for 2011 was <strong>91.80%</strong>, a <strong>0.9% decline</strong> from 2010.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Unemployment Rate in India - nationwide, state-wise, rural and urban employment, and comparison with global peers.

Historical chart and dataset showing India hunger statistics by year from 2001 to 2022.

The estimated per capita income across Sikkim was the highest among Indian states at around *** thousand Indian rupees in the financial year 2024. Meanwhile, it was the lowest in the northern state of Bihar at over ** thousand rupees. India’s youngest state, Telangana stood in the fifth place. The country's average per capita income that year was an estimated *** thousand rupees. What is per capita income? Per capita income is a measure of the average income earned per person in a given area in a certain period. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. If absolute numbers are noted, India’s per capita income doubled from the financial year 2015 to 2023. Wealth inequality However, as per economists, the increase in the per capita income of a country does not always reflect an increase in the income of the entire population. Wealth distribution in India remains highly skewed. The average income hides the disbursal and inequality in a society. Especially in a society like India where the top one percent owned over ** percent of the total wealth in 2022.

As of 2024, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) index score for zero hunger ranges between 84 and 22 for Indian states and union territories. The union territory of Puducherry had the highest score of 84 and among the states, Kerala was the front-runner with a score of 84.

As of 2021, the intensity of poverty experienced by Delhiites living in multidimensional poverty improved to approximately 42 percent from 43.92 percent in the last round of the NFHS survey between 2015 and 2016. The intensity of poverty refers to the average proportion of deprivations experienced by multidimensionally poor individuals; in other words, it helps us to understand how poor people experiencing poverty are.

From 2019 to 2021, the share of multidimensional poor in the total population of Delhi sank to 3.43 percent during the NFHS round of 2021 as compared to 4.44 percent from 2015 to 2016. It is expected to further drop to 2.9 percent during 2022 and 2023. The proportion of multidimensionally poor in the population is arrived at by dividing the number of multi-dimensionally poor persons by the total population.

In 2024, India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was around **** percent, the highest in South Asia. In contrast, Nepal reported the lowest real GDP growth rate in the region at approximately **** percent that year, but it was forecasted to increase to **** percent in 2026.Economy in South Asia In general, South Asia encompasses Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Bhutan. In 2020, India had a GDP of over *** trillion U.S. dollars, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka followed. The Maldives and Bhutan were among the countries with the lowest GDP in the Asia-Pacific region. In South Asia, the main economic activities include the services sector as well as the industrial and manufacturing sectors.Society in South AsiaFrom the South Asian countries, Bangladesh had the highest share of people living below the poverty line. The Maldives and Sri Lanka exhibited the highest and second-highest GDP per capita among the South Asian countries in 2021.

According to the Global Hunger Index 2024, hunger worldwide decreased since 2000, but the pace of the reduction has slowed since 2016. In the Middle East and North Africa, for instance, the hunger index value was the same in 2024 as in 2016, and it had even increased marginally in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2024, Somalia had the highest index score worldwide, meaning it was the country where hunger was most prevalent. The World Hunger Index combines four indicators: undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality.

The statistic shows the national debt in India from 2020 to 2023 in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), with projections up until 2030. In 2023, the national debt of India amounted to about 81.23 percent of the gross domestic product. India’s economy on the rise India is one of the most populous countries in the world, and although a large share of inhabitants are living below the poverty line – or probably due to this fact –, the country’s economy is growing steadily. India’s GDP growth is expected to remain steady at more than 7 percent for the next few years, which is almost double that of the global GDP, and both GDP and GDP per capita are expected to increase significantly. Almost half of India’s workforce is employed in the agricultural sector, but services and industry share the other half quite equally. India’s GDP is mostly generated by the services sector, which includes transport, retailing, and offering services in the hospitality and tourism industry. India’s trade balance has been in the red for a decade now, but seems to recover slowly. A trade deficit usually means that a country’s import costs are higher than the amount of money generated with exporting goods. India’s imports could not be compensated for by the country’s exports, as imports have been consistently, even if only slightly, higher over the years both in terms of volume and value. Still, all signs point to India’s economy growing and thriving, reducing India’s debt (as seen above) and unemployment rate, enabling the inhabitants to create a better life for themselves.

According to the Global Hunger Index 2024, which was adopted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Somalia was the most affected by hunger and malnutrition, with an index of 44.1. Yemen and Chad followed behind. The World Hunger Index combines three indicators: undernourishment, child underweight, and child mortality. Sub-Saharan Africa most affected The index is dominated by countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the region, more than one fifth of the population is undernourished . In terms of individuals, however, South Asia has the highest number of undernourished people. Globally, there are 735 million people that are considered undernourished or starving. A lack of food is increasing in over 20 countries worldwide. Undernourishment worldwide The term malnutrition includes both undernutrition and overnutrition. Undernutrition occurs when an individual cannot maintain normal bodily functions such as growth, recovering from disease, and both learning and physical work. Some conditions such as diarrhea, malaria, and HIV/AIDS can all have a negative impact on undernutrition. Rural and agricultural communities can be especially susceptible to hunger during certain seasons. The annual hunger gap occurs when a family’s food supply may run out before the next season’s harvest is available and can result in malnutrition. Nevertheless, the prevalence of people worldwide that are undernourished has decreased over the last decades, from 18.7 percent in 1990-92 to 9.2 percent in 2022, but it has slightly increased since the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the Global Hunger Index, the reduction of global hunger has stagnated over the past decade.

In the post-Covid financial year of 2021, the poorest ** percent of households witnessed income levels shrink by ** percent from levels in financial year 2016. The pandemic resulted in the gap between the richest and the poorest ** percent from *** times in financial year 2016 to ** times in financial year 2021. In the financial year 2023, the gap narrowed down to ***** times.

Literacy in India has been increasing as more and more people receive a better education, but it is still far from all-encompassing. In 2022, the degree of literacy in India was about 76.32 percent, with the majority of literate Indians being men. It is estimated that the global literacy rate for people aged 15 and above is about 86 percent. How to read a literacy rateIn order to identify potential for intellectual and educational progress, the literacy rate of a country covers the level of education and skills acquired by a country’s inhabitants. Literacy is an important indicator of a country’s economic progress and the standard of living – it shows how many people have access to education. However, the standards to measure literacy cannot be universally applied. Measures to identify and define illiterate and literate inhabitants vary from country to country: In some, illiteracy is equated with no schooling at all, for example. Writings on the wallGlobally speaking, more men are able to read and write than women, and this disparity is also reflected in the literacy rate in India – with scarcity of schools and education in rural areas being one factor, and poverty another. Especially in rural areas, women and girls are often not given proper access to formal education, and even if they are, many drop out. Today, India is already being surpassed in this area by other emerging economies, like Brazil, China, and even by most other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To catch up, India now has to offer more educational programs to its rural population, not only on how to read and write, but also on traditional gender roles and rights.

The national floor level minimum wage in India in 2024 was *** Indian rupees per day and has remained consistent for the last few years. The National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW) is the minimum wage below which no state government can fix. Different states set their minimum wages. The NFLMW was brought into effect in 1996 by the Indian central government. Stagnant minimum wages The Labor Ministry revises the NFLMW every two years, below which states should not fix their minimum wage. The ministry last revised it in 2017. As per economists, the non-revision of the NFLMW hurts the wages of workers engaged in bidi production, plantations, and similar sectors that often employ women. Living wage versus minimum wage India plans to replace its minimum wage system with a living wage by 2025 and has sought assistance from the International Labor Organization (ILO) to develop a framework. The ILO defines a living wage as the wage level necessary to afford a decent standard of living, given a country’s circumstances, whereas the minimum wage is the lowest remuneration required by law to be paid by employers to employees for work performed during a given period. The shift aims to elevate millions out of poverty and to ensure the well-being of unorganized workers.