By Frontline Reporters

Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty between 2021 and 2024, with an additional 17.9 million people affected, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index.

The report, released on Monday by the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, revealed a reversal in Nigeria’s poverty reduction progress after the country recorded improvements between 2018 and 2021.

Nigeria’s increase was significantly higher than that of 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, followed by 5.3 million in Afghanistan,” the report stated.

The findings place Nigeria at the top of the list of countries with the largest absolute deterioration in multidimensional poverty among those with comparable data, raising fresh concerns about worsening living conditions and setbacks in efforts to reduce poverty.

The report identified Nigeria among five countries that recorded increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods.

The other countries were Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.

“In contrast, five countries reported increases in multidimensional poverty. These are Afghanistan (2015/16–2022/23), Central African Republic (2010–2018/19), Guinea (2016–2018), Kyrgyzstan (2018–2023) and Nigeria (2021–2024),” the report added.

Multidimensional poverty measures deprivation beyond income, examining overlapping disadvantages in areas such as education, healthcare, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, housing and nutrition.

Unlike conventional monetary poverty assessments, which focus on income or consumption, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) evaluates the extent to which people lack essential services and basic living conditions.

Individuals are classified as multidimensionally poor when they experience deprivation in at least one-third of the index’s weighted indicators across health, education and living standards.

Nigeria’s Poverty Rate Rises

Further analysis of the report’s harmonised historical data showed that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate increased from 33.0 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024, representing a rise of 5.7 percentage points.

The number of affected Nigerians grew 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 a deterioration in overall living conditions.

However, the report’s separate national estimate for 2024 placed the number of multidimensionally poor Nigerians at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population.

The difference reflects the use of separate methodologies: the national estimate relies on the latest available survey, while the harmonised figures are adjusted to support comparisons across assessment periods.

The report 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.

Wide Disparities Across States

The findings also highlighted substantial differences in the severity and nature of poverty across Nigeria’s states.

Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto were among the states with the highest multidimensional poverty burdens, while Lagos recorded the lowest MPI value.

According to the report, the underlying causes of deprivation vary considerably, even among states with similar poverty levels.

“Compare, for example, the poorest subnational regions of Nigeria: Yobe and Sokoto, which have similar MPI values. Deprivations in nutrition and child mortality contribute more to poverty in Yobe, while in Sokoto, deprivations in water and electricity are stronger contributors,” it stated.

The report stressed that understanding these regional differences was essential to developing effective policies and interventions tailored to the specific needs of individual communities.

Sub-Saharan Africa Bears Largest Burden

Globally, the 2026 report estimated that 1.2 billion people, representing 18.9 per cent of the population covered by the index, were living 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 the largest share of the global burden, with 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, representing more than half of the worldwide total.

Children were disproportionately affected, with 617 million multidimensionally poor people worldwide aged below 18.

“Roughly one in every three children is multidimensionally poor, compared to one in seven adults,” the report stated.

The findings underscore the scale of the challenge facing Nigeria and other developing countries in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing poverty in all its forms and dimensions by at least half by 2030.

Utomi Warns Over Rising Hardship

The latest findings come amid growing concerns about economic hardship, hunger, insecurity and declining public confidence in government institutions.

A Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, recently warned that worsening poverty and insecurity were pushing Nigerians to the brink.

Utomi also urged citizens to resist what he described as the erosion of democratic values ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said the level of hardship in the country had become alarming, with millions of Nigerians facing food insecurity and struggling to meet their basic needs.

The political economist further warned that widening inequality between wealthy political elites and impoverished citizens could threaten national stability.

The latest poverty figures add to mounting concerns over the need for more effective social protection programmes, improved access to essential services and targeted interventions to reverse the worsening deprivation recorded across the country.