Nigeria recorded the largest increase in multidimensional poverty worldwide between 2021 and 2024, with an estimated 17.9 million additional people experiencing multiple forms of deprivation, according to a new United Nations report.
The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, identified a reversal in Nigeria’s poverty-reduction progress after improvements recorded 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.
The report’s harmonised comparison showed that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate rose from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024. The number of affected people increased from 72.21 million to approximately 90.07 million over the same period.
Unlike income-based poverty measures, the Multidimensional Poverty Index assesses overlapping disadvantages affecting people’s daily lives. These include inadequate access to healthcare, education, electricity, clean water, sanitation, proper housing and sufficient nutrition.
A separate Nigerian national assessment conducted in 2024 estimated that 113.32 million people, representing 48.7 per cent of the population, were living in multidimensional poverty. However, this figure was calculated using a different methodology and should not be directly compared with the historical figures in the global report.
The report also highlighted significant differences in poverty levels across Nigeria. Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto were identified among the states with the highest poverty burdens, while Lagos recorded the lowest Multidimensional Poverty Index value.
Nigeria’s findings form part of a broader global challenge. According to the report, approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide were living in acute multidimensional poverty, including 617 million children below the age of 18.
The figures underscore the scale of the challenge facing Nigeria as it works towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing poverty in all its forms by at least half by 2030.
The report’s findings suggest that addressing poverty will require more than improvements in household income, with access to essential services, education, healthcare, electricity, sanitation and adequate nutrition also playing critical roles.
