India records sharp decline in poverty, Pakistan continues to..., number of poor population...

The World Bank’s latest projections indicate that India’s extreme poverty rate has slashed from 27.1 per cent to 5.3 per cent over a decade even as the World Bank revised upwards its threshold poverty line to USD 3 per day. According to a report, 54,695,832 people lived on less than USD 3 per day in 2024 in India. The poverty rate at the lower middle-income country (LMIC) line declined by 33.7 percentage points, it said.  Free and subsidised food transfers supported poverty reduction, and the rural-urban poverty gap narrowed.  The rural-urban poverty gap narrowed with free and subsidised food transfers supported poverty reduction as per reports. 

In contrast, around 45% of Pakistan's population lives in poverty, with 16.5% classified as living in extreme poverty, as per the World Bank data. The latest projections suggest that Pakistan’s poverty rate remains at 42.4%, with an estimated 1.9 million additional people expected to fall into poverty in 2024-25, which has largely remained unchanged from last year. Also, its 2.6% economic growth is also insufficient to reduce poverty. The report added, “With population growing at nearly 2 per cent annually, this translates to 1.9 million additional people falling into poverty this year.”

The latest projections point to Pakistan’s agriculture sector facing significant challenges. As of 2025, 40 per cent reduction in rainfall, pest attacks and shifting production choices, is attributed to the major shift in the yield. The report projects a decline in crop yields, ranging from 29.6% for cotton to 1.2% for rice, which is expected to limit sectoral growth to under 2%. The situation is further exacerbated by India's decision to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, severely impacting water flow to Pakistan's Punjab province. 

According to CNN-News 18, Pakistan's official data reveals a 15% drop in water flow in the Indus Water Basin in Punjab, with many dams nearing critical levels, potentially putting agriculture yields under severe stress. The country’s consumption-based inequality has risen, with actual inequality likely higher due to the underrepresentation of wealthy households in surveys. Food security concerns persist, with 10 million people at risk of acute food insecurity in rural areas.