Nigeria Leads Global Poverty Rise, 17.9m More People Multidimensionally Poor—UN

Nigeria recorded the sharpest enhance in multidimensional poverty of any nation on the planet between 2021 and 2024, with 17.9 million extra folks falling into poverty, in accordance with the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

The report, launched Monday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), stated Nigeria’s earlier good points had been reversed. Poverty fell between 2018 and 2021, then rose within the following three years. Afghanistan had the next-largest enhance, at 5.3 million folks.

Nigeria is one in every of 5 international locations the place poverty rose throughout their evaluation durations, alongside Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.

On the report’s harmonised comparability, Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty price rose from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024. The variety of poor folks grew from 72.21 million to 90.07 million, and the nation’s MPI worth worsened from 0.175 to 0.208.

A separate nationwide estimate for 2024, based mostly on the most recent survey with out the harmonisation changes, places the determine at 113.32 million folks, or 48.7 per cent of the inhabitants. The report stresses that the 2 estimates use totally different approaches and will not be interchangeable. It additionally discovered that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians reside in extreme multidimensional poverty, whereas 18.1 per cent are susceptible to it.

What the index measures

Unlike income-based measures, the MPI appears to be like at overlapping deprivations in well being, training and dwelling requirements. Indicators embody diet, little one mortality, years of education, college attendance, electrical energy, ingesting water, sanitation, housing and family property. An individual is counted as poor if disadvantaged in a minimum of one-third of the weighted indicators.

North carries heaviest burden

Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto had among the many highest poverty burdens, whereas Lagos had the bottom MPI worth. The causes differ by state: diet and little one mortality drive deprivation in Yobe, whereas lack of water and electrical energy weigh extra closely in Sokoto. The report says such variations name for focused interventions fairly than a uniform strategy.

Global image

Worldwide, 1.2 billion folks, or 18.9 per cent of these lined, reside in acute multidimensional poverty. Of these, 534 million face extreme poverty, and 952 million extra are susceptible. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 616 million, over half the worldwide complete. Children are hit hardest: 617 million under-18s are poor, roughly one in three youngsters in contrast with one in seven adults.

The findings increase issues about Nigeria’s progress towards the UN goal of considerably chopping poverty by 2030, as rising dwelling prices, meals insecurity and weak entry to fundamental companies squeeze households.