Which Are The Top 5 Poorest & Underdeveloped States in India?

Last updated on January 29th, 2024 at 12:29 pm

If you want to know which are the most poor states of India, this article is for you. Here we have listed the top 5 poorest & underdeveloped states in India, as per Niti Ayog’s MPI Index.

MPI means Multidimensional Poverty Index which is measured by 3 equally weighted dimensions:

• Health
• Education
• Standard of Living.

Twelve indicators are used to reflect these three dimensions, including nutrition, school attendance, years of schooling, drinking water, sanitation, housing, and bank accounts. However, there are differences between National MPI & Global MPI.

List of Top 5 Poorest & Underdeveloped Indian States

1) Bihar (MPI: 51.91%)

Bihar is India’s top poorest state. The poorest half of Bihar’s population lives in poverty. This state has a poverty rate of roughly 33.74 percent.

Poverty is caused by both institutional and technical issues, as well as illiteracy and agricultural structural and institutional factors.

2) Jharkhand (MPI: 42.16%)

Jharkhand is India’s second poorest state. This state has a poverty rate of 42.16 percent. Literacy, enrolment, child mortality rates, and child nutrition are all lower than the national average in Jharkhand.

Until the year 2000, Jharkhand was a portion of Bihar state.

3) Madhya Pradesh (MPI: 36.65%)

Madhya Pradesh is known as India’s tribal state since it is home to the country’s greatest population of Scheduled Tribes (ST).

The rural poor, particularly the tribal population, rely on forest resources for food, income, and employment.

Read More: Top 5 Developed States In India 2022; The Best Performing States Of India

4) Assam (MPI: 32.67%)

In Assam, over 32% of the population lives in poverty. Assam’s sluggish economic success can be attributed to its remote location from India’s major manufacturing areas.

Assam’s climatic circumstances also impede the state’s growth.

5) Chhattisgarh (MPI: 29.91%)

Chhattisgarh is also one of India’s poorest states. In Chhattisgarh, around a third of the population lives in poverty.

When it comes to state profits, Chhattisgarh accounts for barely 15% of overall steel production in India.