17.9m Nigerians fall into poverty in three years – Report

Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty, with an additional 17.9 million Nigerians falling into poverty between 2021 and 2024, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index.

The report, published on Monday by the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, showed that Nigeria experienced a reversal in poverty reduction after recording improvements between 2018 and 2021.

The findings placed Nigeria ahead of Afghanistan, which recorded an increase of 5.3 million poor people during its latest assessment period.

The report stated, “In absolute terms, the largest increase in the number of poor people is seen in Nigeria, where although poverty had decreased in the previous period (2018–2021), in the recent period (2021–2024), 17.9 million people became multidimensionally poor, followed by 5.3 million in Afghanistan.”

The development means that Nigeria accounted for the largest absolute deterioration in multidimensional poverty among countries with comparable data, raising concerns about worsening living conditions and setbacks in poverty reduction.

The report identified Nigeria among five countries that experienced increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods.

It stated, “In contrast, five countries reported increases in multidimensional poverty. These are Afghanistan (2015/16–2022/23), Central African Republic (2010–2018/19), Guinea (2016–2018), Kyrgyzstan (2018–2023) and Nigeria (2021–2024).”

The findings are particularly significant because multidimensional poverty measures deprivation beyond income, including access to education, healthcare, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, adequate housing and nutrition.

Unlike monetary poverty estimates, which assess people’s income or consumption, the Multidimensional Poverty Index examines overlapping disadvantages affecting households.

The index classifies individuals as multidimensionally poor when they experience deprivation in at least one-third of its weighted indicators covering health, education and living standards.

Further analysis of the report’s harmonised poverty trends showed that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate rose from 33.0 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024, representing an increase of 5.7 percentage points.

The number of affected Nigerians increased from 72.21 million to 90.07 million over the period, while the country’s MPI value rose from 0.175 to 0.208, indicating a deterioration in overall deprivation.

The report’s separate 2024 national estimate put the number of multidimensionally poor Nigerians at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population. This estimate uses the latest survey without the adjustments applied to the harmonised historical comparison.

It also showed that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians experienced severe multidimensional poverty, while another 18.1 per cent were vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.

The report explained, “In Nigeria, poverty incidence declined from 2018–2021, then increased from 2021–2024.” Across Nigeria’s states, the findings revealed substantial differences in the nature and severity of deprivation.

Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto were among the states with the highest multidimensional poverty burdens, while Lagos recorded the lowest MPI value.

The report noted, “Compare, for example, the poorest subnational regions of Nigeria: Yobe and Sokoto, which have similar MPI values. Deprivations in nutrition and child mortality contribute more to poverty in Yobe, while in Sokoto, deprivations in water and electricity are stronger contributors.”

It added that understanding these differences was essential for designing effective interventions tailored to individual communities.

Globally, the report estimated that 1.2 billion people, representing 18.9 per cent of the population covered by the index, lived in acute multidimensional poverty. Of these, 534 million experienced severe poverty, while another 952 million were classified as vulnerable.

Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for the largest concentration, with 616 million poor people, representing more than half of the global total.

The report also found that 617 million multidimensionally poor people worldwide were children below 18 years, underscoring the disproportionate burden of deprivation on younger populations. It stated, “Roughly one in every three children is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in seven adults.”

The findings highlight the challenge facing Nigeria in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing poverty in all its forms and dimensions by at least half by 2030.

A Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, recently warned that rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and declining public confidence in government institutions are pushing Nigerians to the brink.

He also urged citizens to resist the erosion of democratic values ahead of the 2027 elections. He said hardship in the country had become alarming, with millions of Nigerians facing food insecurity and struggling to meet basic needs.

Utomi warned that growing inequality between wealthy politicians and impoverished citizens could seriously undermine national stability.