Poverty and living standards in Sikkim, India: official figures
2.6% of people in Sikkim were multidimensionally poor in 2019-21, down from 3.8% in 2015-16, by NITI Aayog's national index (all-India: 14.96%). That counts people deprived in health, schooling and living standards such as cooking fuel, sanitation, housing and bank accounts; 7th lowest of 36.
How many people in Sikkim have left poverty?
Applied to the official population projections, that means about 18,000 people in Sikkim were poor in 2021, against about 25,000 in 2016: roughly 7,000 fewer in five years.
Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copyHow deep is poverty in Sikkim?
Poor people in Sikkim were on average deprived in 41.0% of the weighted indicators in 2019-21 (the intensity of poverty), compared with 41.2% in 2015-16; the all-India figure was 44.4%.
Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copyHow many people in Sikkim are saving for a pension?
25,744 people in Sikkim joined the Atal Pension Yojana, the government-backed pension for workers without a formal pension, in 2024-25; 70% of them were women. That is 36.9 new members per 1,000 residents.
Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copyMore figures
- Combining how many are poor and how poor they are, Sikkim's multidimensional poverty index was 0.01 in 2019-21 (2015-16: 0.02), on a scale where 0 means nobody is deprived; India: 0.07. Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copy
How Sikkim compares with other states
People multidimensionally poor (2019-21)
Sikkim ranks 30 of 36, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People multidimensionally poor |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Ladakh | 3.53% |
| 28 | Chandigarh | 3.52% |
| 29 | Delhi | 3.43% |
| 30 | Sikkim | 2.60% |
| 31 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 2.30% |
| 32 | Tamil Nadu | 2.20% |
| 33 | Lakshadweep | 1.11% |
More on Sikkim: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government budget · India
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India: Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25, Table 180: State-wise Gender-wise Enrolments under Atal Pension Yojana (APY), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c9b0eeab4f9d…)
- Reserve Bank of India: Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25, Table 10: State-wise Poverty Estimates - Multi-dimensional Poverty Index, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c0d6483061a8…)
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