Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in India
India: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 0.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in India, 1977–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in India stood at 0.5%.
That represents a change of down 41.0% on the previous year and down 38.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in India peaked at 1.5% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1987.
India ranks 119th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 1.5% | — |
| 1983 | 0.6% | -58.3% |
| 1987 | 0.3% | -54.4% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | +275.5% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | -25.0% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | +18.4% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 0.5% | -41.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 0.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.0%, 10% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
- India's 0.5% is below the median for South Asia, which is 3.2%, 16% of the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near India
- 116 Niger 1.3% compare
- 117 Moldova 1.3% compare
- 118 Kazakhstan 0.8% compare
- 120 Azerbaijan 0.1% compare
More poverty & inequality data for India
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.98 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,632 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 0.8468 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 17.32 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 17.3% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in India?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in India was 0.5% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 1977.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1987.
- How does India rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- India ranks 119th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 40% of the median.