“Nepal has more than halved its multidimensional poverty over the past decade, with the proportion of people experiencing overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards falling to 13.9% in 2024/25 from 30.1% in 2014, according to the latest Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2026: Statistical Update identifies Nepal as one of 33 countries that have reduced their MPI values by at least half in fewer than 15 years, marking significant progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nepal’s MPI value declined from 0.133 in 2014 to 0.056 in 2024/25, a reduction of nearly 58%. During the same period, the incidence of multidimensional poverty fell by 16.2 percentage points, while the estimated number of people living in such poverty declined from 8.32 million to 4.11 million.

The report highlights Nepal’s progress as particularly significant because the country recorded a sustained decline in multidimensional poverty across four consecutive periods spanning 10.5 years…

The improvement has continued in recent years. Between 2022 and 2024/25, the proportion of multidimensionally poor people declined from 16.4% to 13.9%, while the MPI value fell from 0.068 to 0.056.”

From New Business Age.