1 in 5 Indian children live below poverty line; at 21%, poverty rate highest among the uneducated: World Bank

India lifted an estimated 496 million people out of poverty between 2011 and 2023, with poverty rates significantly higher among people without formal education, according to the World Bank's October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief. Plus, one in five children under the age of 14 are living below the poverty line. 

The poverty rate among people aged 16 and above without education stood at 21.3% in 2023, compared with 17.3% among those with primary education, 14% among those with secondary education and 7.4% among those with tertiary or post-secondary education.

According to the World Bank report, 21.3% of people aged 16 and above without education lived below the lower middle-income poverty line of $4.20 per day in 2023. The rate declined with higher educational attainment, reaching 7.4% among those with tertiary or post-secondary education.

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13.8% Indians in household with no educated adult  

The report also found that 13.8% of India's population lived in households where no adult had completed primary education, highlighting gaps in basic educational attainment.

Children record higher poverty rates where children aged 0 to 14 recorded a poverty rate of 21.8%, higher than the 14.4% among people aged 15 to 64 and 14% among those aged 65 and above.

The report also found that poverty was higher in rural areas, affecting 19.3% of the rural population, compared with 8.6% in urban areas.

Youth unemployment

The world bank also flags youth unemployment despite employment growth – youth unemployment increased from 14.6% in the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year to 15.9% in the first quarter of FY2027, particularly among rural young women.

Employment increased by around 134 million between 2017 and 2023, nearly twice the growth of the working-age population. However, the report noted that real earnings remained broadly unchanged, with employment growth concentrated in relatively low-productivity activities.

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The World Bank projects that poverty at the $4.20-a-day line will decline further from 14.2% in 2026 to 12.1% by 2028.

India records sharp decline in poverty

India's poverty rate at the lower middle-income poverty line of $4.20 per day declined from 57.7% in 2011 to 16.1% in 2023. Extreme poverty, measured at $3 per day, fell from 27.1% to 2.6% during the same period.

The World Bank attributed the decline to consumption growth, rising employment, particularly among women, and expanded social transfers, including food subsidies.