From poverty to happiness, here’s how India is ranked in various global indices in 2024

The year 2024 has marked the onset of numerous conflicts, leaving the global community grappling with the implications. Citizens across different countries are confronted with challenges such as poverty, hunger, and climate change, all of which play a crucial role in determining their quality of life. As the world approaches the end of the year, with several significant events on the horizon and anticipation building for 2025, we will examine India’s performance in various global indices announced in 2024. From assessments of poverty to measures of happiness, here’s how India ranked.

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024, approximately 1.1 billion people out of a total of 6.3 billion are experiencing poverty across 112 countries. The report published by the United Nations Development Programme indicates that the poverty rate in India decreased from 55.1 percent in 2005-06 to just over 16.4 percent in 2019-21. Despite this, the five countries with the largest number of people living in poverty are India (234 million), which is medium Human Development Index (HDI), and Pakistan (93 million), Ethiopia (86 million), Nigeria (74 million) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (66 million), all of which have low HDI. Collectively, these five countries represent nearly half (48.1 percent) of the total 1.1 billion poor people.

Also read: Poverty levels below 5%, claims NITI Aayog chief

More than half of the 1.1 billion people living in poverty are children under the age of 18, totalling 584 million. Globally, 27.9 percent of children are living in poverty, in contrast to 13.5 percent of adults.

Global Hunger Index

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) serves as a major tool used by international humanitarian organizations to measure and monitor hunger levels, with scores derived from indicators of undernourishment and child mortality across 127 countries. In the latest ranking, India has been positioned at 105th place, categorizing it within the “serious” category of the analysis. This places India among 42 countries identified as “serious,” alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan, while neighbouring South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka have achieved better GHI scores, qualifying them for the “moderate” category.

According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, India has a score of 27.3, indicating a serious level of hunger. The GHI score for India is derived from four key indicators: 13.7 percent of the population is undernourished, 35.5 percent of children under five are stunted, 18.7 percent of these children are wasted, and 2.9 percent of children do not survive to their fifth birthday, as highlighted in the report.

Editorial | Abject failure: On India’s Global Hunger Index ranking

World Press Freedom Index

India’s score in the World Press Freedom Index has declined over the past year, decreasing from 36.62 to 31.28, as reported by Reporters Without Borders (RSF for Reporters sans Frontières), which compiles an annual index assessing the freedom of journalists across 180 jurisdictions. Although India’s rank improved from 161 in 2023 to 159 in 2024, this change was primarily due to the decline of other countries in the rankings. Norway and Denmark secured the top positions in the RSF index, while Eritrea occupied the lowest rank, with Syria positioned just above it.

The RSF country report on India noted that “India’s media has fallen into an ‘unofficial state of emergency’ since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and engineered a spectacular rapprochement between his party, the BJP, and the big families dominating the media.”

Global Gender Gap Index

India has fallen two positions in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap index, now ranking 129th, while Iceland continues to hold the top spot. Within South Asia, India is ranked fifth, following Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, with Pakistan occupying the last position. On a global scale, Sudan ranks last among the 146 countries assessed, while Pakistan has dropped three places to 145th.

India demonstrated the strongest gender parity in secondary education enrollment and achieved a commendable 65th rank in the political empowerment of women. In terms of the duration of female and male leadership over the past 50 years, India is ranked 10th.

Editorial | Two steps back: on India and the Global Gender Gap report 2024

The WEF reported that the global gender gap has been reduced by 68.5 percent, but at the current rate, it will take an additional 134 years—equivalent to five generations—to attain complete gender parity. Over the past year, the gender gap has narrowed by 0.1 percentage points.

World Happiness Index

Indians are among the unhappiest people in the world, as indicated by the annual World Happiness Report, which assesses global life satisfaction based on factors such as health, economy, and freedom. In the latest report, India is ranked 126 out of 143 countries, reflecting a slight decline from last year’s 125th rank. This places India behind conflict-affected regions like Palestine and Ukraine, as well as neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Nepal.

The report is the result of a collaboration between Gallup, the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre. Notably, the findings reveal that older individuals in India report higher levels of life satisfaction.

Human Development Index

India’s Human Development Index (HDI) value, which experienced a decline in 2021 and remained stable in subsequent years, has risen to 0.644 in 2022. This improvement positions India at 134th among 193 countries and territories, as reported in the recently published 2023/24 Human Development Report (HDR) titled “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World.” The current HDR builds upon the findings of the 2021–2022 report, which marked the first decline in global HDI values for two consecutive years.

With an HDI value of 0.644, India is placed in the medium human development category. From 1990 to 2022, the country has achieved a remarkable 48.4 percent increase in its HDI value, rising from 0.434 in 1990 to 0.644 in 2022.

Climate Change Performance Index

India has been ranked 10th from a list of more than 60 countries evaluated for their initiatives to combat climate change, despite a decline of two places from the previous year. This ranking is attributed to India’s low per capita emissions and its swift advancement in renewable energy deployment. The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI 2025) report, unveiled during the annual UN climate conference in Baku, does not assign the top three positions, with Denmark occupying the fourth spot and the Netherlands following.

The CCPI, produced by think tanks including Germanwatch, New Climate Institute, and Climate Action Network International, monitors the performance of the world’s major emitters concerning emissions, renewable energy, and climate policies. Experts from the CCPI have noted that India has made substantial strides in renewable energy policy over the past year, particularly through the implementation of large-scale solar power projects and the launch of the Rooftop Solar Scheme. Among the G20 nations, India and the United Kingdom are recognized as the only high performers in the CCPI.

Global Peace Index

The report indicates that India’s overall level of peacefulness has increased by 1.6 percent over the past year, marking the highest level of peace since the inception of the index. As of the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2024, India holds the 116th position globally, with an overall score of 2.319. This represents a notable advancement from its 126th rank in 2023, 139th in 2020, and 141st in 2019.