India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016 – UN

A new report by the United Nations shows that 1.3 billion people across 101 countries are “multidimensionally poor,” which means that poverty is defined not simply by income but by a number of indicators.

Those indicators include poor health, poor quality of work, and the threat of violence.

The report identified 10 countries, with a combined population of around two billion people, which have shown statistically significant progress in ending poverty “in all its forms, everywhere.” The 10 countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Vietnam.

Residents stand in their shanties at a slum in northern suburb of Mumbai, India © Reuters / Danish Siddiqui

In India, there were 271 million fewer people in poverty in 2016 than in 2006, the study shows. The country recorded the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as “assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition.”

In 2005-2006, the population in India living in multidimensional poverty was about 640 million people (55.1 percent). That number was reduced to 369 million people (27.9 percent) by 2015-16.

Deprivation in nutrition dropped from 44.3 percent in 2005-06 to 21.2 percent in 2015-16, child mortality – from 4.5 percent to 2.2 percent. The South Asian country has also significantly reduced its deprivation of cooking fuel, sanitation, and drinking water. More people gained access to housing and electricity.

“In all 10 countries rural areas are poorer than urban areas. In Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru poverty reduction in rural areas outpaced that in urban areas – demonstrating pro-poor development – and in Bangladesh and Democratic Republic of the Congo poverty fell at the same speed in rural and urban areas,” the UN said.

Overall, the study shows that globally, of the 1.3 billion people who are multidimensionally poor, more than two-thirds or 886 million now live in middle-income countries. A further 440 million live in low-income countries. One in three children worldwide is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in six adults. That means that nearly half of the people living in multidimensional poverty (663 million) are children, with the youngest children bearing the greatest burden.

Original: https://www.rt.com/business/463993-india-lifts-people-from-poverty/