India’s Battle Against Poverty: 171 Million Lifted from Extreme Poverty in a Decade

India has achieved a major milestone by lifting 171 million people out of extreme poverty between 2011-12 and 2022-23, as per the World Bank’s Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief. Extreme poverty dropped sharply from 16.2% to 2.3%, with notable declines in both rural (18.4% to 2.8%) and urban (10.7% to 1.1%) areas, driven largely by states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.
Lower-middle-income poverty fell from 61.8% to 28.1%, lifting 378 million people, while multidimensional poverty (MPI) declined to 15.5% in 2022-23, reflecting broad improvements in education, health, and living standards.

Sharp Reduction in Extreme Poverty

• The percentage of people living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $2.15 per day) dropped from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23.
• This sharp decline has resulted in 171 million people being lifted from extreme poverty over the past decade.

Rural and Urban Areas

• Rural Areas: Extreme poverty fell from 18.4% in 2011-12 to 2.8% in 2022-23.
• Urban Areas: Extreme poverty reduced from 10.7% to 1.1% during the same period.
• The gap between rural and urban poverty has narrowed from 7.7 percentage points to 1.7 percentage points.

Poverty at Lower-Middle-Income Level

• The poverty rate at the $3.65 per day level (lower-middle-income) dropped from 61.8% in 2011-12 to 28.1% in 2022-23, lifting 378 million people out of poverty.
• Rural poverty at this level declined from 69% to 32.5%, while urban poverty fell from 43.5% to 17.2%.
• The gap between rural and urban poverty narrowed from 25 to 15 percentage points