GLOBAL MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX 2019 ILLUMINATING INEQUALITIES OPHI Oxford Poverty the size of the bubble reflects the number of multidimensionally poor people. The figure is based on 1,119 subnational regions in 83 countries plus national averages for 18 countries. Data are from surveys conducted between 2007 and 2018. Source: Alkire, Kanagaratnam and Suppa (2019) based on Human Development Report Office and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative calculations. Illuminating Inequalities | 3Across the 101 countries covered by the global MPI, 23.1 percent of people are multidimensionally poor, but the incidence of multidimensional poverty varies across developing regions from 1.1 percent in Europe and Central Asia to 57.5 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa 94 million multidimensionally poor people live in upper-middle-income countries, where the subnational incidence of multidi- mensional poverty ranges from 0 percent to 69.9 percent. 792 million multidimensionally poor live in lower-middle-income countries, where the subnational incidence of multi- dimensional poverty ranges from 0 percent to 86.7 percent. 440 million multidimensionally poor people live in low-income countries, where the sub- national incidence of multidimensional pov- erty ranges from 0.2 percent to 99.4 percent. This shows that the challenge of reducing multi dimensional poverty is not confined to low-income countries. Inequality between and within countries The global MPI highlights inequalities at the global, regional, national, subnational and even household level. Each layer of analysis yields a new understanding of inequality and provides a far richer picture than the $1.90 a day poverty rate. Two examples illustrate how subnational disaggregations shine a light on inequality. Where multidimensionally poor people live The global MPI indicates that 1.3 billion peo- ple live in multidimensional poverty. But where are they? Increasing levels of disaggregation can help locate them: Poorest two developing regions: Ranking developing regions by average MPI value re- veals that Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the poorest (figure 3). Poorest 49 countries: Ranking countries by MPI value reveals that the poorest 49 coun- tries are home to as many multidimensionally poor people as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These 49 countries are spread across all developing regions except Europe and Central Asia. Poorest 675 subnational regions: Ranking subnational regions by MPI value reveals that the poorest 675 subnational regions, located in 65 countries in all developing regions except Europe and Central Asia, are home to as many poor people as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia combined. 5 Without disaggregation, the striking inequality within countries is easily missed. Disaggregation matters Across the 101 countries covered by the global MPI, 23.1 percent of people are multi- dimensionally poor, but the incidence of multidimensional poverty varies across devel- oping regionsfrom 1.1 percent in Europe and Central Asia to 57.5 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa the incidence varies across countriesfrom 6.3 percent in South Africa to 91.9 percent in South Sudan (see figure 3). And within countries the inci- dence varies across subnational regions. For instance, the incidence of multidimensional poverty in Uganda is 55.1 percentsimilar to the Sub-Saharan Africa average. But within Uganda the incidence ranges from 6.0 percent in Kampala to 96.3 percent in Karamoja meaning that some regions of the country have an incidence similar to that of South Africa, while others have an incidence similar to that of South Sudan. Poverty is everywhere Action against poverty is needed in all devel- oping regions. While Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to the largest proportions of multidimensionally poor people (84.5 per - cent of all multidimensionally poor people live in the two regions), countries in other parts of the world also have a high incidence of multi- dimensional poverty: Sudan (52.3 percent), Yemen (47.7 percent), Timor-Leste (45.8 per - cent) and Haiti (41.3 percent). Stark inequalities across countries in the same developing region In Sub-Saharan Africa the incidence of multidimensional poverty is 91.9 percent in South Sudan and 90.5 percent in Niger but 14.9 percent in Gabon and 6.3 percent in South Africa. In South Asia it is 55.9 percent in Afghanistan but 0.8 percent in the Maldives. In the Arab States it is 52.3 percent in Sudan and 4 | GLOBAL MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY INDEX 2019