Delhi's poverty drops, unemployment falls to 2.1%

Delhi has recorded a decline in poverty and unemployment in recent years, while also witnessing improvements in female labour force participation and sex ratio at birth, according to the Delhi State Indicator Framework (SIF) 2025 report released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics.

The report tracks Delhi's progress on 16 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is aimed at supporting policy decisions and the implementation of government schemes.

Poverty Levels Decline

According to the report, the proportion of people living in poverty in Delhi declined over the years. It states that the share of men, women, and children living in poverty fell from 4.4% in 2015-16 to 2.1% in 2017-18.

The "No Poverty" Sustainable Development Goal seeks to eliminate poverty in all its forms.

The report also noted a steady rise in beneficiaries under the "Women in Distress" scheme, increasing from 168,977 in 2015-16 to 197,863 in 2017-18, 238,706 in 2019-20, 312,272 in 2021-22 and 397,465 in 2024-25.

Unemployment Sees Sharp Drop

Delhi's unemployment rate declined from 9.7% in 2017-18 to 8.7% in 2019-20, before falling to 5.3% in 2021-22 and further to 2.1% in 2023-24, the report said.

During the same period, the labour force participation rate among people aged 15 to 59 years increased from 49.9% in 2017-18 to 51.5% in 2023-24.

The report also highlighted an improvement in female participation in the workforce, with the female labour force participation rate rising from 11.2% in 2017-18 to 13.7% in 2018-19 and 14.5% in 2023-24.

Sex Ratio Improves

Based on the United Nations' Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the report also recorded improvements in Delhi's sex ratio at birth over the past decade.

The number of female live births per 1,000 male live births increased from 898 in 2015 to 913 in 2017, 920 in 2019, and 929 in 2022, before settling at 920 in 2024.

The Delhi State Indicator Framework 2025 tracks the national capital's progress across 16 Sustainable Development Goals and serves as a framework for monitoring development indicators and guiding policy implementation.

(With inputs from PTI)