According to the World Bank's most recent estimate, roughly 45% of Pakistan's population lives in poverty, and 16.5% lives in extreme poverty. However, India has lifted a record number of people out of poverty.
This comes after the World Bank revised the poverty level last week. According to a World Bank estimate released earlier this April, 1.9 million more Pakistanis were living in poverty in 2024–2025.
India Lifts 171 Million Citizens Out of Poverty
The global poverty lines have been updated by the World Bank. This comes after the International Comparison Program (ICP) published new purchasing power parities (PPPs) in May 2024.
Even though the World Bank raised its threshold poverty level to $3 per day, India's extreme poverty rate fell precipitously to 5.3% over a ten-year period from 27.1% in 2011–12. According to the World Bank, India has pulled 171 million people out of extreme poverty in the ten-year period between 2011–12 and 2022–23.
India’s Poverty Rate over 10 Years
As per the official press release of PIB, check India’s performance in the poverty rate in the table below:
| Year | Poverty Line (PPP/day) | Poverty Rate | People Below Poverty Line |
| 2011–12 | $2.15 (2017) | 16.22% | ~205.9 million |
| 2011-12 | $3.00 (2021) | 27.12% | ~344.47 million |
| 2022–23 | $2.15 (2017) | 2.35% | ~33.6 million |
| 2022–23 | $3.00 (2021) | 5.25% | ~75.2 million |
Updated List of Countries' Poverty Rates
This table shows how the number of poor people changed in 2022 across various countries. The new data came into light with the newest report published by the World Bank.
The changes are based on updated survey data and new international price comparisons. It also shows how poverty rates vary at different poverty lines, $2.15 (old and new) and $3.00 per day.
| Country | $2.15 (Old) | $2.15 | $3.00 | Change due to New PIP Data (millions) | Change due to New PPPs (millions) | Total Change (millions) |
| India | 12% | 3% | 6% | -125 | 48 | -77 |
| Pakistan | 3% | 4% | 14% | 2 | 25 | 27 |
| Ethiopia | 17% | 30% | 37% | 17 | 8 | 26 |
| Indonesia | 2% | 2% | 3% | 0 | 16 | 16 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 77% | 77% | 84% | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Uganda | 40% | 41% | 59% | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| Philippines | 6% | 5% | 13% | -1 | 9 | 8 |
| Yemen, Rep. | 52% | 54% | 68% | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Nigeria | 32% | 31% | 35% | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| South Africa | 20% | 21% | 31% | 1 | 7 | 7 |
Pakistan’s Poverty Rate Increased
According to the World Bank's April report, Pakistan's 2.6% economic growth "remains insufficient to reduce poverty." According to the research, Pakistan's poverty rate is expected to remain "virtually unchanged from last year" in FY25, at 42.4% (US$3.65/day 2017 PPP).
"This translates to 1.9 million more people falling into poverty this year, given that the population is growing at a rate of almost 2% per year," the research stated.
According to the report, Pakistan's consumption-based inequality has increased by about 2 percentage points since FY21 and has remained stable at slightly under 32 for the past 12 months. However, since polls tend to underrepresent wealthy households, true inequality is probably larger. Furthermore, outside variables like changing international trade dynamics may have an impact on how quickly the economy recovers and how far poverty reduction advances as a result.
India’s Action Influences Pakistan’s Poverty
According to the World Bank, Pakistan's agriculture industry faces enormous obstacles because of changing production choices, pest attacks, and worsening weather in 2025, which included a 40% decrease in rainfall.
According to the research, "crop yields are projected to decline, ranging from 29.6% for cotton to 1.2% for rice, limiting sectoral growth to less than 2%."
Water supply to Punjab, Pakistan, has also been significantly impacted by India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, which may also significantly reduce Pakistan's agricultural output.
According to official data from Pakistan, the water flow in Punjab's Indus Water Basin has decreased by 15%, and the levels of numerous Pakistani dams are getting close to the dead level, CNN-News18 said on Sunday.
