World Bank: 496 million Indians left poverty between 2011 and 2023 (opens the source in a new tab)
- The World Bank's new India brief says the share living under $4.20 a day fell from 57.7% in 2011 to 16.1% in 2023, about 496 million people. Extreme poverty, at $3 a day, fell from 27.1% to 2.6%.
- Behind it: stronger consumption, about 134 million more jobs in 2017 to 2023 (many rural women entering paid work) and wider transfers such as food subsidies. It projects 12.1% by 2028.
- The remaining poor are concentrated: rural poverty is 19.3% against 8.6% in towns, and the Uttar Pradesh to West Bengal belt holds about 57%. Youth unemployment rose to 15.9%.
- 496M
- lifted out of poverty
- 2.6%
- extreme poverty, 2023
- 80%
- still below $8.30 a day
Why it matters India's poverty fight is shifting from keeping people fed to getting them productive work. The next gains depend on jobs in a few eastern states, not on national averages.
Other side The Bank itself says the jump between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 surveys partly reflects better measurement, and that richer households are likely undercounted. How much of the fall is statistics rather than living standards?
Source:World Bank (free to read) ↗