Multidimensional Poverty Index

Multidimensional Poverty Index 2011 ~ 109 countries and sub-national regions of 66 countries

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI for short) is an international measure of acute poverty covering 109 developing countries. The MPI complements income-based poverty measures by reflecting the multiple deprivations that people face at the same time. The MPI identifies deprivations across health, education and living standards, and shows the number of people who are multidimensionally poor and the deprivations that they face at the household level. It uses ten indicators across three dimensions, as the diagram below shows.

The second Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which featured in the United Nations Development Programme 2011 Human Development Report and covered 109 developing countries, was launched on 2 November 2011. In December, further analysis was released which shows MPI poverty at the sub-national level for 66 countries and tracks changes to MPI poverty over time in 10 countries.

 

Latest resources

Additional materials and background information can be accessed through the MPI Resources page.

What’s new for 2011?

First introduced in 2010, and now covering 109 developing countries, the MPI has now been updated for 2011 – nationally in the 2011 HDR, and at the sub-national level and with new analysis of changes to MPI over time by OPHI researchers. New analysis and findings for 2011 include:

• In 2011, the MPI has been calculated for 5 new countries and updated for 20 countries
• The MPI has been calculated for sub-national regions across 66 countries
• Changes of MPI over time have been analysed for 10 countries and their regions
• The MPI is robust to a range of plausible weights and poverty cutoffs

Key findings for 2011

• Most poor people live in middle-income countries. Over twice as many poor people live in middle-income countries as in low-income countries.
• The 38 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa together have the highest MPI poverty rates of any world region, yet the poorest 26 regions of South Asia have a higher combined MPI and more MPI poor people than Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Income classifications hide wide disparities in MPI poverty. In low-income countries, the percentage of poor people ranges from 5% in Kyrgyzstan to 92% in Niger. In middle-income countries it ranges from 0% in Belarus to 77% in Angola.
• Multidimensional poverty within countries varies greatly. Nepal is poorer according to the MPI than Cambodia, but Cambodia’s poorest region is poorer than the poorest region of Nepal.
• Poverty reduction over time varies by dimension. Bangladesh reduced poverty across all dimensions; Kenya reduced its MPI mainly through improvements in living standards; and Bolivia made great strides in improving school attendance and sanitation but less progress in decreasing undernutrition.

For full MPI 2011 findings, see: Multidimensional Poverty Index (2011) – Research Briefing.

What is the MPI?

• What is the MPI?
• Mapping the MPI
• What does the MPI measure?
• Why is the MPI useful?
• Who can use the MPI?
• How was the MPI created?
• What next?
• MPI in the 2011 HDR
• Data Citation
• Support for MPI and MPI Interactive Map

Mapping the MPI – explore global poverty through OPHI’s interactive map

Explore global multidimensional poverty around the world using OPHI’s mapping tools. They show how poverty differs by country (a darker colour indicates a higher MPI, and therefore greater poverty), and within countries, according to OPHI’s analysis of sub-national poverty in 66 countries.

Click here to see full size map

Getting the most from the map

This new section of the site now features world poverty maps that show sub-national breakdowns of MPI poverty, and interactive maps to help you navigate through the world according to the MPI.You can choose to explore the world by either the MPI as a whole or by individual dimensions and indicators of MPI poverty. You can also see the intensity and incidence of poverty (the MPI’s two component parts) individually, allowing you to zoom in even closer and explore the character of poverty.

What is the MPI?

The lives of people living in poverty are affected by more than just a lack of income. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) complements income poverty measures by reflecting the deprivations that each poor person faces all at once with respect to education, health and other aspects of living standards. It assesses poverty at the individual level, with poor persons being those who are multiply deprived, and the extent of their poverty being measured by the range of their deprivations.

The MPI can be broken down to show a vivid picture of people living in poverty, both across countries, regions and the world and within countries by ethnic group, urban/rural location, or other key household characteristics. It is the first international measure of its kind, and offers a valuable complement to income poverty measures because it measures deprivations directly. The MPI can be used as an analytical tool to identify the most vulnerable people, show aspects in which they are deprived and help to reveal the interconnections among deprivations. This enables policy makers to target resources and design policies more effectively. Other dimensions of interest, such as work, safety, and empowerment, could be incorporated into the MPI in the future, as data become available. OPHI is currently conducting research to collect and analyse internationally comparable data on these ‘missing dimensions’ of poverty.

The MPI reports acute poverty for 109 countries.

What does the MPI measure?

The MPI uses 10 indicators to measure three critical dimensions of poverty at the individual level: education, health and living standard in 109 developing countries. These directly measured deprivations in health and educational outcomes as well as key services such as water, sanitation, and electricity reveal not only how many people are poor but also the composition of their individual poverty. The MPI also reflects the intensity of poverty – the sum of weighted deprivations that each person faces at the same time. A person who is deprived in 70% of the indicators is clearly worse off than someone who is deprived in 40% of the indicators.

Why is the MPI useful?

The MPI is a high resolution lens on poverty. Knowing not just who is poor but how they are poor is essential for effective human development programmes and policies. This straightforward yet rigorous index allows governments and other policymakers to understand the various sources of poverty for a region, population group, or nation and target their human development plans accordingly. The index can also be used to show shifts in the composition of poverty over time so that progress, or the lack of it, can be monitored.

The MPI goes beyond previous international measures of poverty to:

• Show all the deprivations in the selected indicator that impact someone’s life at the same time – so it can inform a holistic response.
• Identify the poorest people. Such information is vital to target people living in poverty so they benefit from key interventions.
• Show which deprivation combinations are most common in different regions and among different groups, so that resources can be allocated and policies designed to address their particular needs.
• Reflect the results of effective policy interventions quickly. The MPI will immediately reflect changes in any of its indicators such as school attendance so can be used to monitor progress.
• Integrate many different aspects of poverty related to the MDGs into a single measure, to give an overview of its component changes, to reflect interconnections among deprivations and to help identify poverty traps.

Who can use the MPI?

• Governments

• Non-Governmental organisations

• Private sector institutions

• Civil society groups and advocacy groups

• Academics and researchers

How was the MPI created?

The MPI was created using a technique developed by Sabina Alkire and James Foster. The Alkire Foster method measures outcomes at the individual level (person or household) against multiple criteria (dimensions and indicators). The method is flexible and can be used with different dimensions and indicators to create measures specific to different societies and situations. For example, it can be applied to measure poverty or wellbeing, target services or conditional cash transfers and for monitoring and evaluation. The method can show the incidence, intensity and depth of poverty, as well as inequality among the poor, depending on the type of data available to create the measure. Read our policy page for more information on the method and the countries that have adopted it.

The specific indicators, cutoffs and weights employed by the MPI were chosen in a long process of consultation, study and fieldwork. The MPI indicators are the best combination possible to compare the 109 countries, given currently available data, and resonate with the Millennium Development Goals.

The MPI was created using a technique developed by Sabina Alkire and James Foster. The Alkire Foster method measures outcomes at the individual level (person or household) against multiple criteria (dimensions and indicators). The method is flexible and can be used with different dimensions and indicators to create measures specific to different societies and situations. For example, it can be applied to measure poverty or wellbeing, target services or conditional cash transfers and for monitoring and evaluation of programmes. The method can show the incidence, intensity and depth of poverty, as well as inequality among the poor, depending on the type of data available to create the measure. Read our policy page for more information on the method and the countries that have adopted it.

The specific indicators, cutoffs and weights employed by the MPI were chosen in a long process of consultation, study and fieldwork. The MPI indicators are the best combination possible to compare the 109 countries, given currently available data, and resonate with the Millennium Development Goals.

What next?

• National measures: Governments can tailor the MPI to the indicators and cutoffs that are most appropriate in their country and use it to complement income poverty.

• NGOs and Private Sector: These institutions can adapt the MPI to their context and use it for monitoring and accounting for the impacts of their work.

• Targeting: Programmes that are targeting conditional cash transfers, or other social programmes can adapt the MPI to identify the people whose poverty is most intense, so the programmes reach them first.

• More and better data: The MPI is restricted because we do not have internationally comparable data from the same surveys for other dimensions that might be useful such as safety from violence, work, the environment, empowerment, social relationships, and culture.

• Updated data: Ideally the MPI would use very recent internationally comparable data, and these would be updated frequently. Given data contraints, the MPI is based on the most up to date figures from DHS and MICS surveys 2000-2010. As more data are released the MPI will be updated.

Read more about the MPI on the MPI Resources page.

MPI in the HDR 2011

New analysis for the 2011 Human Development Report included:

• Five new countries were added between 2010-2011 – Bhutan, Maldives Timor-Leste, Uganda and Vanuatu, taking the total to 109.

• Trend analysis: Changes to MPI poverty over time reveal different patterns of poverty reduction.

• Severe povertyhas been introduced in 2011. In addition to the MPI (which shows acute poverty), new figures have been produced for:
  • Population in severe poverty (people with an intensity of poverty of more than 50%)

• Environmental analysis of the MPI was carried out for the 2011 HDR, examining lack of improved cooking fuel, drinking water and sanitation up close. Poor households know, for example, that burning wood irritates the eyes and damages the respiratory system. In India Rabiya of Bihar, who is profiled in one of OPHI’s MPI case studies, commented: “We have always used twigs and branches from nearby trees as cooking fuel. Everyone here does that. It burns our eyes, but it has to be done”

Key findings from the 2011 HDR

Environmental poverty

• The 2011 HDR examines the pervasiveness of environmental deprivations among the MPI poor— focusing on the lack of improved cooking fuel, drinking water and sanitation. It shows that:
  • In developing countries, at least 6 people in 10 experience one of these environmental deprivations, 4 in 10 experience two or more.
  • These deprivations are especially acute among multidimensionally poor people (more than 9 in 10 of whom experience at least one).
  • Environmental deprivations are most acute in Sub-Saharan Africa (99 percent of the multidimensionally poor face at least one environmental deprivation, and nearly 60 percent face all three).
  • Environmental deprivations disproportionately contribute to multidimensional poverty, accounting for 20 percent of the MPI— above their 17 percent weight in the index.
  • The rural poor are worse affected. A striking 97 percent face at least one environmental deprivation, and about a third suffer all three.
  • State- and provincial-level MPIs show wide disparities in environmental deprivations. Within Haiti the proportion of people who are both multidimensionally poor and deprived of clean water in Aire Métropolitaine/ Ouest is 19 percent, while in the Centre it is 70 percent. Similarly, in Senegal the proportion of people who are both multidimensionally poor and deprived in cooking fuel is about 4 percent in Dakar and about 88 percent in Kolda.

Unmet need for family planning

• The incidence of people living in households with unmet family planning needs is always higher among the multidimensionally poor, according to analysis conducted for the 2011 HDR:
  • In Bolivia 27 percent of the multidimensionally poor have unmet need for family planning, more than twice the share among the nonpoor (12 percent)
  • In Ethiopia unmet need among the multidimensionally poor (29 percent) is almost three times the share among the nonpoor (11 percent).

Read the HDR 2011 for the above findings in full.

Data citation

Please cite the MPI data as: Alkire, S. Roche, JM. Santos, ME. and Seth, S (November 2011) http://ophi.qeh.ox.ac.uk. Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Available at: www.ophi.org.uk/policy/multidimensional-poverty-index/

Support for MPI and MPI interactive map

OPHI gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report Office in creating the MPI 2011. OPHI also gratefully acknowledges the support of Global Giving in crafting the MPI.

OPHI’s interactive MPI map was created using StatPlanet software developed by Frank van Cappelle. (Frank van Cappelle (2011) StatPlanet: Interactive Data Visualization and Mapping Software, Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Mnitoring Educational Quality, Paris. http://www.sacmeq.org/statplanet).

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