Nigeria has recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty, with an additional 17.9 million citizens affected between 2021 and 2024, according to a new international report.
The findings were contained in the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
The report revealed that Nigeria’s progress in reducing poverty between 2018 and 2021 was reversed over the following three years, leaving millions more people deprived of basic necessities.
Nigeria recorded a higher increase than Afghanistan, which reported an additional 5.3 million people living in multidimensional poverty during its latest assessment period.
The report’s harmonised estimates showed that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate increased from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024. The number of affected people rose from 72.21 million to approximately 90.07 million within the period.
A separate national estimate for 2024 put the number of Nigerians experiencing multidimensional poverty at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population. The figure differs from the harmonised comparison because it uses the latest survey without adjustments made to align historical data.
Unlike income-based measurements, multidimensional poverty considers several forms of deprivation, including inadequate healthcare, limited access to education, poor housing, lack of electricity, unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and malnutrition.
The report also found that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians were experiencing severe multidimensional poverty, while another 18.1 per cent were vulnerable to falling into poverty.
Across the country, the burden varied considerably by state. Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto were among the states with the highest levels of multidimensional poverty, while Lagos recorded the lowest Multidimensional Poverty Index value.
The report highlighted differences in the factors contributing to deprivation, noting that nutrition and child mortality played a greater role in poverty in Yobe, while inadequate water and electricity contributed more significantly in Sokoto.
Globally, an estimated 1.2 billion people were living in acute multidimensional poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 616 million of those affected, making it the region with the largest concentration of people experiencing severe deprivation.
Children were particularly affected, with approximately 617 million children under 18 living in multidimensional poverty worldwide.
The findings underline the challenge facing Nigeria as it works towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of substantially reducing poverty in all its forms by 2030.
