World Bank Report: India Lifted About 49.6 Crore People Out of Poverty Between 2011 and 2023
The World Bank's India Poverty and Equity Brief (October 2026) says about 496 million people (49.6 crore) in India moved out of poverty between 2011 and 2023. It called this one of the fastest falls in poverty anywhere in the world.
Extreme poverty (living on less than US$3 a day, measured in 2021 PPP dollars) fell from 27.1% in 2011 to 2.6% in 2023.
Poverty at the higher lower-middle-income line of US$4.20 a day fell from 57.7% to 16.1% over the same period. The World Bank projects this rate to fall further, from 14.2% in 2026 to 12.1% by 2028. These projections are "indicative" (rough estimates from computer models) and may change.
The brief names three main reasons: growth in household consumption (spending), more jobs, especially for women, and bigger social transfers such as food subsidies. Employment rose by about 134 million between 2017 and 2023, much of it from rural women joining paid work.
It also points to weak spots: real wages were broadly flat, many new jobs were in low-productivity work, youth unemployment rose from 14.6% to 15.9% (Q1 FY26 to Q1 FY27), and about 57% of India's remaining poor live in a belt from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal.
On other measures, the World Bank's own multidimensional poverty measure stood at 15.5% in 2022-23, and India's consumption Gini index was 23.0 in 2023, a low measured level of spending inequality. The bank cautioned that surveys may miss the spending of the very rich, and that part of the recent gain may come from changes in how surveys measure spending.
Poverty Measurement in India: Methods and Debates
Poverty measurement means deciding who counts as poor and how many such people there are. India has mostly done this with a poverty line: a fixed amount of money a person needs each month to meet basic needs. If a person's monthly spending is below this line, they are counted as poor. The World Bank uses its own international poverty lines, set in US dollars and adjusted for price differences between countries, so that it can compare poverty across the world.
The 49.6 crore figure is based on the World Bank's US$4.20 a day line, which is the line it considers relevant for lower-middle-income countries like India. The 2.6% extreme poverty figure uses the US$3 a day line. Both depend on India's household spending surveys, which is why the method used in those surveys matters so much.
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): Measuring Poverty Beyond Income
The Multidimensional Poverty Index, or MPI, measures poverty by looking at what people actually lack in daily life, not only how much they spend. It checks basic things in three areas: health, education and living standards. If a person lacks enough of these things at the same time, they are counted as "multidimensionally poor". So a family may have some cash income but still be poor if it has no clean cooking fuel, no toilet and no child in school.
The World Bank brief shows that poverty in India has fallen not only by the money measure but also by the "many dimensions" measure. Both lines of evidence point the same way, though the numbers differ because each index uses different indicators and data.
Gini Coefficient: How Economists Measure Inequality
The Gini coefficient is a single number that shows how unequally income, spending or wealth is shared in a country. It runs from 0 to 1 (or 0 to 100 when written as the Gini index). 0 means perfect equality, where everyone has the same. 1 (or 100) means one person has everything. A lower Gini means a more equal country.
The brief describes India's spending inequality as low, but warns that household surveys often fail to capture the spending of very rich families. So the low consumption Gini should not be read as proof that incomes and wealth are equally shared.
- Report: World Bank India Poverty and Equity Brief, October 2026
- People out of poverty (US$4.20/day line), 2011 to 2023: about 496 million (49.6 crore)
- Extreme poverty (US$3/day, 2021 PPP): 27.1% (2011) → 2.6% (2023)
- Lower-middle-income line (US$4.20/day): 57.7% → 16.1%
- Projection at US$4.20/day: 14.2% (2026) → 12.1% (2028)
- World Bank multidimensional poverty measure: 15.5% (2022-23)
- Consumption Gini index: 23.0 (2023)
- Employment growth 2017 to 2023: about 134 million
- Youth unemployment: 14.6% → 15.9% (Q1 FY26 to Q1 FY27)
- About 57% of India's remaining poor live in the belt from Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal
- World Bank poverty lines since June 2025: US$3.00 / US$4.20 / US$8.30 per day (2021 PPP)
- NITI Aayog National MPI: 29.17% (2013-14) → 11.28% (2022-23); 24.82 crore escaped