--- description: One third of the world’s 1.2 billion poorest people live in India, according to a report by the United Nations. title: Most of the World's Poorest People Live in India image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad4e7e8ce74cc79/69869c11d0b6f239b23054fc/482698051.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # India Is Home to More Poor People Than Anywhere Else on Earth by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 17, 2014 8:27 AM CUT  Slum dwellers lead their life in poverty and unhealthy conditions in New Delhi, India on March 10, 2014. Slum dwellers lead their life in poverty and unhealthy conditions in New Delhi, India on March 10, 2014.Anadolu Agency—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 17, 2014 8:27 AM CUT One third of the world’s 1.2 billion poorest people live in India, according to the latest Millennium Development Goals [report](http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20English%20web.pdf "undefined") by the U.N. India only managed to reduce its poverty rate (the ratio of the number of people who fall below the poverty line and a country’s total population) from 49.4% in 1994 to 42% in 2005 and 32.7% in 2010\. By contrast, regional rival China brought it down from 60% in 1990 to an impressive 16% in 2005 and just 12% in 2010. India also accounted for the highest number of under-five deaths in the world in 2012, with 1.4 million children not reaching their fifth birthday. “We don’t have to be proud of what we’ve done,” [admitted](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-is-home-to-worlds-1/3rd-of-extreme-poor-population-UN-study/articleshow/38512305.cms "undefined") minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla to the _Times Of India_ on Wednesday. “Poverty is the biggest challenge.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2999550/india-home-to-most-poor-people/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2999550/india-home-to-most-poor-people/"},"headline":"India Is Home to More Poor People Than Anywhere Else on Earth","datePublished":"2014-07-17T08:27:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:11:44.390Z","description":"\"We don't have to be proud of what we've done,\" one minister says","url":"https://time.com/2999550/india-home-to-most-poor-people/","keywords":["India","poverty","China","United Nations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad4e7e8ce74cc79/69869c11d0b6f239b23054fc/482698051.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad4e7e8ce74cc79/69869c11d0b6f239b23054fc/482698051.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Poverty of slums at New Delhi","caption":"Poverty of slums at New Delhi","creditText":"Anadolu Agency—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2999550/india-home-to-most-poor-people/","name":"India Is Home to More Poor People Than Anywhere Else on Earth"}}]}] ```