The poorest parts of India are generally considered to be the states in the eastern and central regions, particularly Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, which consistently show high poverty rates, low per capita income, and significant development challenges like poor literacy and access to basic amenities. Bihar frequently ranks as the poorest state by percentage of population below the poverty line, with high figures for multidimensional poverty.
Bihar is currently considered the poorest state in India by per capita income and poverty rate. Per capita income in Bihar is the lowest (₹43,000 in 2023–24).
According to the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2021, Bihar has the highest poverty rate in India. The MPI is a measure of acute poverty that captures the various deprivations experienced by individuals at the same time.
Calcutta, India is regarded as one of the poorest and most unpleasant places to live: There is, perhaps, no city in the world that is so commonly thought of as synonymous with “poverty” than Calcutta, India.
List Of the US States With the Highest Poverty Rates Mississippi (19.58%) West Virginia (17.10%) Arkansas (16.08%) New Mexico (18.55%) Louisiana (18.65%) Kentucky (16.61%) Alabama (15.98%) Oklahoma (15.27%) South Carolina (14.68%) Tennessee (14.62%) North Carolina (13.98%) Georgia (14.28%)
The Niti Ayog has noted Alirajpur district on the south-western fringe of Madhya Pradesh as the poorest and the most deprived district in whole of the country. It has close to 90 percent tribal population mainly comprising the Bhil communiy. It also has an extremely low literacy rate at 37 percent.
The poverty rate then fell rapidly in China, equalling India's rate by the mid-1990s. Now the poverty rate is far higher in India. By 2008, about one-fifth of India's population still lived below $1 a day, while in China it was down to just 7%. What can explain this difference?
Kerala, the southernmost state in India, recently declared that it has eradicated extreme poverty — an achievement that garnered widespread media attention worldwide as a potential new pathway for eradicating extreme poverty in the developing world.
The economy of India is a developing mixed economy with a notable public sector in strategic sectors. It is the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP); on a per capita income basis, India ranked 136th by nominal GDP and 119th by PPP-adjusted GDP.
Countries with the highest poverty rates often shift due to conflict and economic instability, but consistently include nations in Sub-Saharan Africa and conflict zones, with recent data pointing to Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi, Madagascar, and the Central African Republic often appearing among the top, though exact rankings vary by source and year, showing high percentages often exceeding 70% living in poverty, like Visual Capitalist's 2024 data on poverty rates by country.
Mumbai is leading the chart. The financial capital of India, with a projected GDP of around INR 25.73 lakh crore in 2025, is the country's main economic hub.
Maharashtra - The Economic Powerhouse. Maharashtra is India's richest state, with a GSDP of ₹42.67 lakh crore, which is more than 13% of the country's total GDP.
