Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty, with an additional 17.9 million people falling into poverty between 2021 and 2024, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index.
The report, released on Monday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), showed that Nigeria’s progress in poverty reduction between 2018 and 2021 was reversed in the subsequent three-year period.
Nigeria recorded a higher increase in the number of poor people than Afghanistan, where 5.3 million people became multidimensionally poor during the country’s 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 findings placed Nigeria among five countries that experienced increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods. Others were Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.
Multidimensional poverty measures deprivation beyond income, covering access to healthcare, education, electricity, clean drinking water, sanitation, adequate housing and nutrition.
Under the index, people are classified as multidimensionally poor when they experience deprivation in at least one-third of the weighted indicators covering health, education and living standards.
A harmonised comparison of Nigeria’s poverty trends showed that the multidimensional poverty rate increased from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024, representing a rise of 5.7 percentage points.
The number of affected Nigerians rose from 72.21 million to 90.07 million within the period, while the country’s Multidimensional Poverty Index value increased from 0.175 to 0.208, indicating worsening deprivation.
However, 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. The figure was based on the latest national survey without the adjustments used in the harmonised historical comparison.
The report also found that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians experienced severe multidimensional poverty, while another 18.1 per cent were vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.
“In Nigeria, poverty incidence declined from 2018–2021, then increased from 2021–2024,” the report stated.
At the subnational level, the report identified significant differences in poverty levels and the factors driving deprivation across Nigerian states.
Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto were among the states with the highest multidimensional poverty burdens, while Lagos recorded the lowest MPI value.
The report highlighted differences between Yobe and Sokoto, despite their similar MPI values, noting that nutrition and child mortality contributed more significantly to poverty in Yobe, while inadequate access to water and electricity featured more prominently in Sokoto.
It said understanding these variations was essential to developing interventions that address the specific needs of different 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 this number, 534 million experienced severe poverty, while another 952 million people were classified as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.
Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, representing more than half of the global total.
Children accounted for a substantial proportion of those affected, with 617 million children below the age of 18 living in multidimensional poverty worldwide.
“Roughly one in every three children is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in seven adults,” the report stated.
The findings raise concerns about Nigeria’s progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing poverty in all its forms and dimensions by at least half by 2030.
Meanwhile, Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, recently warned that rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and declining public confidence in government institutions were putting increasing pressure on Nigerians.
Utomi called on citizens to resist the erosion of democratic values ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying economic hardship had become alarming, with millions struggling to afford food and other basic necessities.
He also warned that widening inequality between wealthy political elites and impoverished citizens could undermine national stability.
