Poverty and living standards in Tamil Nadu, India: official figures
2.2% of people in Tamil Nadu were multidimensionally poor in 2019-21, down from 4.8% 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; 5th lowest of 36.
How many people in Tamil Nadu have left poverty?
Applied to the official population projections, that means about 1.68 million people in Tamil Nadu were poor in 2021, against about 3.56 million in 2016: roughly 1.88 million fewer in five years.
Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copyHow deep is poverty in Tamil Nadu?
Poor people in Tamil Nadu were on average deprived in 38.7% of the weighted indicators in 2019-21 (the intensity of poverty), compared with 40.0% in 2015-16; the all-India figure was 44.4%.
Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copyHow many people in Tamil Nadu are saving for a pension?
680,294 people in Tamil Nadu joined the Atal Pension Yojana, the government-backed pension for workers without a formal pension, in 2024-25; 58% of them were women. That is 8.8 new members per 1,000 residents.
Source: Reserve Bank of India · saved copyMore figures
- Combining how many are poor and how poor they are, Tamil Nadu'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 Tamil Nadu compares with other states
People multidimensionally poor (2019-21)
Tamil Nadu ranks 32 of 36, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People multidimensionally poor |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | Delhi | 3.43% |
| 30 | Sikkim | 2.60% |
| 31 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 2.30% |
| 32 | Tamil Nadu | 2.20% |
| 33 | Lakshadweep | 1.11% |
| 34 | Puducherry | 0.85% |
| 35 | Goa | 0.84% |
More on Tamil Nadu: 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…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.