Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
Information
Full name
Population living in multidimensional poverty according to global definitions using the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
Short name
Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)
Code
MPIGlobal
Definition
The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is an international measure of acute multidimensional poverty with a focus on developing countries. It complements traditional monetary poverty measures by capturing the acute deprivations in health, education, and living standards that a person faces simultaneously.
The MPI assesses poverty at the individual level. If a person is deprived in a third or more of ten (weighted) indicators, the global MPI identifies them as ‘MPI poor’. The extent – or intensity – of their poverty is also measured through the percentage of deprivations they are experiencing. The global MPI shows who is poor and how they are poor and can be used to create a comprehensive picture of people living in poverty. It permits comparisons both across countries and world regions, and within countries by ethnic group, urban/rural area, subnational region, and age group, as well as other key household and community characteristics.
For each group and for countries as a whole, the composition of MPI by each of the ten indicators shows how people are poor. This makes the MPI and its linked information platform invaluable as an analytical tool to identify the most vulnerable people – the poorest among the poor, revealing poverty patterns within countries and over time, enabling policy makers to target resources and design policies more effectively. The global MPI was developed by OPHI with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for inclusion in UNDP’s flagship Human Development Report in 2010. It has been published annually by OPHI and in the HDRs ever since.
Source: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) website, available at: https://ophi.org.uk/what-global-mpi. [assessed June 2026]
Rationale
Poverty has traditionally been defined as the lack of money. However, the poor themselves consider their experience of poverty much more broadly. A person who is poor can suffer multiple disadvantages at the same time – for example, they may have poor health or malnutrition, a lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or little schooling. Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty. Therefore, multidimensional poverty measures have been developed to create a more comprehensive picture by looking at multiple dimensions such as health, education, living standards.
Source: UN SDG indicator metadata, version 2025 March 28, available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/
Method of computation
See full details on how to construct the index on the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) website, available at: https://ophi.org.uk/what-global-mpi. [assessed June 2026]
Comparability
International definition and standards
Relationships
| Framework | Indicator | Comparability |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainible Development Goals Indicators | Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions | Comparable |
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Limitations
The MPI has some drawbacks, mainly due to data constraints. The indicators include both outputs (such as years of schooling) and inputs (such as cooking fuel). Data on outcomes like people’s functionings and capabilities are not available for all dimensions.
There are many aspects of health that the two included indicators do not cover. Furthermore, the nutrition indicator is the least comparable of all 10 indicators, because in countries with MICS surveys, data are only available for children under 5 years of age, whereas in DHS surveys women’s nutritional data are usually available and sometimes some data for men. National surveys may cover a larger age range. Despite these limitations, the patterns that emerge are plausible and familiar.
In some cases, careful judgments are needed to address missing data. To be considered multidimensionally poor, households must be deprived in at least six living standard indicators or in three living standard indicators and one health or education indicator. This requirement makes the MPI less sensitive to minor inaccuracies.
Source: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) website, available at: https://ophi.org.uk/global-mpi. [assessed June 2026]
Quality assurance
Quality assurance follows the practices of the standardized survey series or data source from which the data is collected.
Data sources
The preferred data source for this series is a household-based labor force survey. In the absence of a labor force survey, a population census and/or other type of robust household survey with an appropriate employment module may also be used to obtain the required data. When official sources do not include forcibly displaced or stateless people or they cannot be disaggregated in the dataset, other potential data sources include UNHCR standardized surveys such as the Forced Displacement Survey.
Cameroon: Forced Displacement Survey - 2024
UNHCR_CMR_2024_FDS
2024
Cameroon
Probability survey
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Gov't. of Cameroon
Report is forthcoming.
Zambia: Forced Displacement Survey - 2025
UNHCR_ZMB_2025_FDS
2025
Probability survey
The strata on others of concern (OOC) are former refugeesfrom Angola and Rwanda who have lost their refugee protections, however, remain in Zambia and are at risk of statelessness.
Ethiopia: Socio‑Economic Survey of Refugees in Ethiopia (SESRE) – 2023
WB_ETH_2023_SESRE
2023
Ethiopia
Probability survey
The World Bank