The 2023 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) uses the most recent comparable data available for 110 countries—22 low-income countries, 85 middle-income countries and 3 high-income countries. These countries are home to about 92 percent of the population in developing regions. Global MPI values, incidence and intensity of poverty, and component indicators are disaggregated for 1,281 subnational regions as well as by age group, rural-urban area and gender of the household head. In Table 6, we publish harmonised estimates for 84 countries, which provide results for trends over time. Forty-five of the 84 countries have trends for two points in time, 35 countries have trends for three points in time, while four countries have trends for four points in time.

This year’s report Unstacking global poverty: Data for high-impact action, produced in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report Office (UNDP HDRO), presents a compact update on the state of the world’s multidimensional poverty. It compiles data across 110 developing countries covering 6.1 billion people and accounting for 92% of the population in developing countries. It tells us an important and persistent story about how prevalent poverty is in the world, and provides insights into the lives of the poor, their deprivations and how intense their poverty is – to inform and accelerate efforts to end poverty in all its forms. As few countries, still, have post-pandemic data, the report also calls insistently for updated multidimensional poverty data. While the report provides a sobering annual stock take of global poverty, it also highlights examples of success in every region.

• Citation: OPHI (Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative) and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2023). Unstacking global poverty: Data for high-impact action. United Nations Development Programme and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

The global MPI results are presented in eight Data Tables. Data Table 1 presents MPI country (national) results using the most recent data from 110 countries, covering 6.1 billion people. The country (national) estimates are jointly produced by OPHI and UNDP’s Human Development Report Office (HDRO). Please refer to OPHI MPI Methodological Note 55 for the core methodology and country specifications.

In addition, the OPHI team produces an additional set of Data Tables (Tables 2–8). These include selected auxiliary statistics, namely, standard errors of key estimates consistently. Data Table 2 presents estimations for multiple poverty cut-offs as a measure of robustness. The MPI and its partial indices are also disaggregated by several different population groups: age groups (Data Table 3), rural and urban areas (Data Table 4), subnational regions (Data Table 5) and gender of household head (Data Table 7). The disaggregated MPI results shared in these tables show the importance of going beyond national averages to identify important variation across population groups. Please refer to OPHI MPI Methodological Note 56 for OPHI’s disaggregation methodology and policies.

Data Table 6 presents trends over time in 84 countries. For 35 of these countries there are trends for three points in time, while four countries have data for four points in time. Data Table 6 also contains disaggregated results of the extent to which poverty has changed over time for age groups, rural and urban areas, and for 814 subnational regions. Please refer to OPHI MPI Methodological Note 57 for trends over time methodology and country harmonisation details.

Finally, Data Table 8 presents all global MPI country (national) results published since 2010.