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While the wealthiest households are in cities, poverty continues to dog rural India. The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data shows that 74 per cent of the urban population is in the two highest wealth quintiles (one-fifth of the data set) while more than half of the rural population (54 per cent) falls in the two lowest wealth quintiles. Women, too, occupy the lowest wealth quintiles.
The NFHS data presents wealth quintiles according to urban rural residence and State. Chandigarh (79 per cent), Delhi (68 per cent) and Punjab (61 per cent) have the highest percentage of population in the highest wealth quintile. The States with the highest percentage of population in the lowest wealth quintile are Jharkhand (46 per cent), Bihar (43 per cent), Assam (38 per cent), Odisha (35 per cent) and West Bengal (33 per cent).
The data show that 71 per cent of scheduled tribe households and 49 per cent of scheduled caste households are in the two lowest wealth quintiles.
Household possessions
Almost all households in India (97 per cent) have electricity — about 99 per cent of urban households and 95 per cent of rural households have electricity. Sixty per cent of households have pucca houses (built entirely with high-quality materials) and 34 per cent have semi-pucca houses.
The survey also collected information on household assets, means of transport, agricultural land, and farm animals. When it comes to the share of households with a bank account or post office account, there is little difference between urban (95 per cent) and rural areas (96 per cent). Urban households are somewhat more likely than rural households to have a mobile telephone (97 per cent versus 92 per cent). Rural households are more likely than urban households to own agricultural land (52 per cent versus 13 per cent) or farm animals (58 per cent versus 10 per cent).
Impact of poverty on women
The percentage of women and men who have completed secondary school or higher education increases by wealth quintile. About 6 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men in the lowest wealth quintile completed 12 or more years of schooling, compared with more than half of women (55 per cent) and men (62 per cent) in the highest wealth quintile. Women in the highest wealth quintile marry later (21.1 years) than women in other wealth quintiles (17.5-19.3 years).
The perinatal mortality rate also declines with higher household wealth — 41 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies in the lowest wealth quintile and 17 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies in the highest wealth quintile. Compared to 97 per cent in the highest wealth quintile, 76 per cent of births in the lowest wealth quintile were in a health facility.
More women and men in the highest wealth quintile have used the internet (69 per cent and 78 per cent, respectively) compared with those in the lowest wealth quintile (9 per cent and 26 per cent, respectively).
Mobile phone ownership and the ability to read text messages increase sharply with wealth. Only 33 per cent of women in the lowest wealth quintile have a mobile phone, compared with 79 per cent in the highest wealth quintile.
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