The level of multidimensional poverty in Azerbaijan has fallen to a very low indicator.
Modern.az reports that this is reflected in the 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index prepared by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.
According to the report, 0.2 percent of the population in Azerbaijan, i.e., approximately 18 thousand people, live in multidimensional poverty. In a more precise calculation, the indicator is 0.18 percent.
The indicator of severe multidimensional poverty in Azerbaijan is shown at 0.0 percent. At the same time, 1.4 percent of the population – approximately 145 thousand people – were included in the category at risk of multidimensional poverty.
Azerbaijan's Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was 0.001.
For comparison, the average level of multidimensional poverty in the Europe and Central Asia region is 1.5 percent, and severe multidimensional poverty is 0.1 percent. In this regard, Azerbaijan's indicator is significantly lower than the regional average.
The calculations for Azerbaijan in the report are based on the results of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted in 2023.
It is interesting that, compared to previous periods, multidimensional poverty in Azerbaijan has significantly decreased. Comparative data from UNDP show that in 2006, multidimensional poverty in the country covered 4.16 percent of the population, i.e., 362 thousand people according to the calculations of that period. In the 2023 data, this indicator decreased to 0.18 percent and 18 thousand people.
Thus, the share of the population covered by multidimensional poverty decreased by approximately 23 times during the compared period.
It should be noted that multidimensional poverty is not measured only by a person's income. The Global MPI takes into account simultaneous deprivations in health, education, and living standards. A person is considered multidimensionally poor if they experience at least one-third of the measured deprivations.
The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index covers 109 developing countries. According to the report, a total of 6.3 billion people live in these countries, and approximately 1.1 billion of them live in multidimensional poverty.
UNDP also specifically notes that it does not officially rank countries by MPI indicator. The reason for this is that the surveys used for countries belong to different years. Therefore, instead of presenting Azerbaijan as being in a specific “place in the world,” it is more accurate to present it as one of the countries with one of the lowest indicators of multidimensional poverty.
