2.3 States and Regions: Severity versus Scale Figure 2 maps states and regions along two dimensions: severity, measured by the overall MPI score on the vertical axis, and scale, measured by the absolute number of MPI-poor people on the horizontal axis. Bubble colour reinforces severity. Dashed reference lines mark the national MPI and the average MPI-poor population across states and regions, dividing the figure into four analytical quadrants. This structure allows states and regions to be read not only by how severe poverty is, but by how much they contribute to the national poverty count, two signals that do not always align. Figure 2 Multidimensional poverty across states/regions: severity and scale Figure 2. Multidimensional poverty across states/regions: severity and scale High severity, large scale 0.35 High severity, small scale Kayah Rakhine Severity (MPI score) 0.30 MPI 0.25 0.30 Chin 0.25 Sagaing 0.20 Kachin Ayeyarwady Kayin 0.15 Tanintharyi Low severity, small scale 0.20 Mon Bago Shan Low severity, large scale Yangon Nay Pyi Taw 500000 1000000 0.10 Mandalay Magway 0.10 0.15 1500000 2000000 Scale (MPI-poor population) 2500000 Source: PPS 2025 (UNDP) High severity, large scale: Rakhine, Sagaing, Ayeyarwady These three states and regions share the distinction of combining above-average MPI scores with large affected populations, though the underlying poverty dynamics differ considerably across them. Rakhine records the highest MPI score nationally (0.342), with a headcount of 68.4 In Rakhine, more than two in three percent and approximately 1.66 million MPIpeople are multidimensionally poor and poor people. Poverty in Rakhine is pervasive, poor households are deprived in roughly reflecting the intersection of prolonged insecurity, restricted mobility, weak market half of all indicators at once. For many, integration, and constrained access to health poverty is not a single unmet need. It and education services. The situation of is the simultaneous collapse of shelter, stateless and displaced populations, including barriers related to documentation, freedom of healthcare, schooling and livelihood. movement, and service entitlement, constitutes a central structural feature of the poverty landscape, distinguishing Rakhine’s profile from other high-poverty areas. 12 LAYERS OF DEP RIVATION : Mu ltid im e n s io n a l Pov er t y i n M y a n m a r