An additional 17.9 million Nigerians fell into multidimensional poverty between 2021 and 2024, the highest increase recorded by any country globally, according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.
The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, published on Monday, showed that Nigeria experienced a reversal in poverty reduction after recording improvements between 2018 and 2021.
Nigeria recorded a far higher increase than Afghanistan, which had 5.3 million additional people fall into 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, followed by 5.3 million in Afghanistan,” the report stated.
The findings place Nigeria among five countries that recorded increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods, alongside Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.
The index measures poverty beyond income, examining overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards, including nutrition, child mortality, access to electricity, drinking water, sanitation and adequate housing.
Under the methodology, people are classified as multidimensionally poor when they experience deprivation in at least one-third of the weighted indicators.
The report’s harmonised historical comparison showed that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate rose from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024, an increase of 5.7 percentage points.
The number of people affected increased from 72.21 million to 90.07 million over the period, while the country’s Multidimensional Poverty Index value rose from 0.175 to 0.208, indicating worsening deprivation.
A separate national estimate for 2024 put the number of Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population.
The report noted that this estimate was based on the latest survey without the adjustments used for the harmonised 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 falling into multidimensional poverty.
“In Nigeria, poverty incidence declined from 2018–2021, then increased from 2021–2024,” the report stated.
At the subnational level, the findings showed significant differences in the intensity and drivers of poverty across 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 even among states with similarly high poverty levels, noting that nutrition and child mortality contributed more to deprivation in Yobe, while inadequate water and electricity were stronger contributors in Sokoto.
It said identifying these variations was essential for developing interventions that address the specific needs of affected 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 that 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 bore a disproportionate share of the burden, with 617 million children below 18 years classified as multidimensionally poor worldwide.
“Roughly one in every three children is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in seven adults,” the report stated.
The findings underscore the challenges facing Nigeria in achieving 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 and insecurity, alongside declining public confidence in government institutions, were putting pressure on the country.
Utomi also cautioned that growing inequality between wealthy political elites and struggling citizens could undermine national stability, urging Nigerians to resist the erosion of democratic values ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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