By Opeyemi Adelakun
Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty, with 17.9 million more citizens affected between 2021 and 2024, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index.
The report, published 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 years.
Nigeria recorded the highest absolute increase in the number of poor people among countries with comparable data, surpassing Afghanistan, which recorded an additional 5.3 million people living in multidimensional poverty during its latest assessment period.
“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,” the report stated.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index measures deprivation beyond income, examining access to essential services and living conditions, including education, healthcare, nutrition, electricity, drinking water, sanitation and adequate housing.
According to the report’s harmonised historical estimates, Nigeria’s 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 increased from 72.21 million to 90.07 million during the period, while the country’s MPI value rose from 0.175 to 0.208, indicating worsening deprivation.
However, a separate national estimate for 2024 put the number of multidimensionally poor Nigerians at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population. The report explained that this figure was based on the latest survey without the adjustments applied to the historical comparison.
It also found that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians experienced severe multidimensional poverty, while another 18.1 per cent were vulnerable to it.
Nigeria was among five countries that recorded increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods. The others were Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.
Across Nigeria, the severity and causes of poverty varied by state. 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, noting that nutrition and child mortality contributed more significantly to deprivation in Yobe, while inadequate access to water and electricity were stronger contributors in Sokoto.
Globally, an estimated 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 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, representing more than half of the global total.
Children were disproportionately affected, with 617 million people under 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 underscore the challenge facing Nigeria in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing poverty in all its forms by at least half by 2030.
Separately, Professor of Political Economy Pat Utomi recently warned that rising poverty, hunger and insecurity, coupled with declining public confidence in government institutions, were placing Nigerians under severe pressure.
Utomi also cautioned that widening inequality between wealthy politicians and struggling citizens could threaten national stability.
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