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Multidimensional Poverty Index

UNDP and OPHI's measure of deprivation in health, education and living standards.

Written by Pratidin; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work

NITI Aayog also publishes a national MPI.

Practise this in the app: flashcards, quiz and a timed answer
Prelims

Quick recall

Who publishes the global MPI?
UNDP and OPHI (University of Oxford).
Since when?
2010.
How many indicators does it have?
Ten, across three dimensions.
When is someone multidimensionally poor?
If deprived in at least one-third of weighted indicators.
Which Indian body publishes a national MPI?
NITI Aayog.
Which two indicators does India's national MPI add?
Maternal health and bank accounts.

Asked before in UPSC

Recurring theme: Measuring poverty beyond income: deprivation and multidimensional indices

Mains
  1. 2025 · GS2 · 15 marks

    Inequality in the ownership pattern of resources is one of the major causes of poverty. Discuss in the context of 'paradox of poverty'.

    MPI deprivations in assets, housing and services illustrate how unequal resource ownership sustains poverty.

  2. 2020 · GS2 · 15 marks

    "The incidence and intensity of poverty are more important in determining poverty based on income alone". In this context analyse the latest United Nations Multidimensional Poverty Index Report.

    Asks directly for the UNDP-OPHI global MPI: headcount (incidence) and intensity figures from the latest report are the answer's backbone.

  3. 2016 · GS1 · 12.5 marks

    'An essential condition to eradicate poverty is to liberate the poor from the process of deprivation.' Substantiate this statement with suitable examples.

    The MPI is built on deprivations in health, education and living standards, which makes it the natural evidence base here.

Prelims
  1. 2026 · Prelims

    Consider the following statements about Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): 1. MPI is calculated using Alkire-Foster methodology. 2. MPI calculated by NITI Aayog has a total of twelve indicators. 3. Maternal Health and Bank Account are common indicators in the MPI of NITI Aayog and MPI of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    Tests the Alkire-Foster method and the difference between NITI Aayog's 12-indicator national MPI and the 10-indicator global MPI.

The basics

Why it matters

The Multidimensional Poverty Index measures poverty through deprivations in health, education and living standards, not income alone. India also publishes a national MPI through NITI Aayog.

10
Indicators in the global MPI
Published by the UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

What it measures

The index combines several dimensions.

Multidimensional Poverty Index
  1. 1HealthNutrition, child mortality
  2. 2EducationYears of schooling, school attendance
  3. 3Living standardsCooking fuel, sanitation, water, electricity, housing, assets
  4. 4PoorDeprived in at least one-third of weighted indicators

You now know

  • Global MPI by UNDP and OPHI since 2010.
  • Three dimensions and ten indicators.
  • A person is poor if deprived in at least one-third of weighted indicators.
  • NITI Aayog's national MPI adds maternal health and bank accounts.

Go deeper

In one line: The MPI shows how many people are poor and how badly, using everyday deprivations.

Why it matters for UPSC

India's poverty debate uses both MPI and consumption-based measures.

The core idea

Income misses whether people have clean water, schooling or health. The MPI combines Headcount and intensity, and differs from Consumption poverty.

Where to go next

In one line: MPI and consumption measures answer different questions.

India

NITI Aayog's national MPI shows large falls in multidimensional poverty since 2015-16.

Caveat

Indicators like electricity and bank accounts improve quickly with schemes. Compare with Consumption poverty. See Headcount and intensity.

Where to go next

Headcount and intensity

The two parts of the MPI

In one line: The MPI multiplies the share of people who are poor (headcount) by the average share of deprivations they face (intensity).

Why

It shows both how many and how deeply people are poor.

Where to go next

Consumption poverty

Poverty measured by spending

In one line: Consumption poverty counts people whose spending is below a poverty line.

India

Estimates from Household Consumption Expenditure Surveys, such as 2022-23.

International

The World Bank's international poverty line.

Where to go next

Prelims-style quiz

  1. The global MPI is published by UNDP and:

    1. OPHI
    2. UNICEF
    3. IMF
    4. World Bank
    Show answer

    Answer: (a) OPHI. OPHI, University of Oxford.

  2. Consider the following:
    1. The MPI has three dimensions.
    2. It is based only on income.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Show answer

    Answer: (a) 1 only. It uses non-income deprivations.

  3. India's national MPI is published by:

    1. NSO
    2. RBI
    3. MoSPI
    4. NITI Aayog
    Show answer

    Answer: (d) NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog.

  4. The poverty cutoff in the MPI is deprivation in at least:

    1. Two-thirds
    2. One-third
    3. One-fourth
    4. One-half
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) One-third. One-third of weighted indicators.

Syllabus

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