The United Nations has reported that approximately 113 million Nigerians, representing 48.7 per cent of the population, experience multidimensional poverty, with significant deprivations in health, education and living standards.
The findings are contained in the 2026 edition of the annual Multidimensional Poverty Index report produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), released on Monday.
According to the report, the average poor Nigerian is deprived in 55 per cent of the indicators used to assess health, education and living standards, while 28.7 per cent of Nigerians are classified as severely poor.
The report also highlights a reversal in earlier poverty reduction gains, noting that the proportion of Nigerians living in poverty fell from 42.3 per cent in 2013 to 33 per cent in 2021 before rising to 38.7 per cent in 2024.
“Like for like, the share poor fell from 42.3% in 2013 to 33.0% in 2021, then rose to 38.7% in 2024. That is nearly 18 million more poor people: three-quarters from a higher rate, one quarter from population growth,” the report stated.
Rural Communities and Northern Nigeria Most Affected
Poverty remains disproportionately concentrated in rural communities and northern Nigeria, according to the report.
It found that 68.9 per cent of rural Nigerians are poor, compared with 24.8 per cent of those living in towns. Severe poverty is also substantially more prevalent in rural areas, affecting 45.1 per cent of residents compared with 9.3 per cent in urban communities.
The report identified the North-West and North-East as the regions bearing the heaviest poverty burden.
The figures underscore the unequal distribution of poverty across the country, with rural populations facing substantially greater deprivation than their urban counterparts.
Clean Cooking and Electricity Remain Major Gaps
Limited access to clean cooking fuel and electricity emerged as two of Nigeria’s most significant poverty indicators.
The report found that 47.4 per cent of Nigerians are poor and deprived of clean cooking fuel, while 37.6 per cent are poor and lack electricity.
“These are gaps that policy knows how to close,” the report stated, highlighting areas where targeted public policies and infrastructure investment could address persistent deprivation.
Global Acute Poverty Rises to 1.2 Billion
Globally, the report found that approximately 1.2 billion people live in acute multidimensional poverty, marking an increase of 51.5 million people compared with the previous year.
The findings represent the first reported rise in the global poverty index since its introduction in 2010.
UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo described the increase as a “wake-up call for the world,” calling attention to the interconnected hardships experienced by people living in poverty.
“Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity. This is unacceptable,” he said in a press release.
Children account for more than half of those living in acute poverty, according to the UNDP.
However, the organisation cautioned that population growth was a major factor in the increase in the total number of people affected. It also noted that new data were available for only 13 of the 108 developing countries covered by the report.
Despite the overall increase, the findings point to progress in some countries. Thirty-three nations have cut the proportion of their populations living in multidimensional poverty by half over the past 15 years, including six countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
China and Vietnam were among the countries identified by the UNDP as having made particularly rapid progress in reducing poverty.
The report highlights the continuing challenge of addressing overlapping deprivations in essential services and living conditions, particularly in countries and communities where access to electricity, clean cooking fuel, education and healthcare remains limited.
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