World Bank Report: India’s Extreme Poverty Falls to 2.3% and Employment Growth Surpasses Working-Age Population.
International
In April 2025, Washington DC (USA)-based World Bank (WB) released its latest report titled 'India Poverty and Equity Brief: April 2025'. As per the report, India's extreme poverty (defined as living on less than USD 2.15 per day) has dropped significantly from 16.2% in 2011-12 to just 2.3% in 2022-23.
- The report further revealed that 17.1 crore people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, and 37.8 crore have moved above the broader poverty line during this period.
Main Point :- (i) The report highlighted that India has made significant strides in poverty reduction, with employment growth outpacing the working-age population since 2021-22.
(ii) The report also indicated that the decline in India's extreme poverty rate was highest in rural areas, where it dropped from 18.4% to 2.8%. Urban extreme poverty decreased from 10.7% to 1.1%, narrowing the rural-urban poverty gap from 7.7% to just 1.7%, reflecting a 16% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) decrease.
(iii) According to the World Bank's findings, India's employment rates, especially among women, are increasing. Urban unemployment dropped to 6.6% in the 1st Quarter (Q1) of Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25), the lowest since 2017-18.
About World Bank
CFO : Anshula Kant
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
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