RismadarVoice Reporters
October 13, 2026
Nigeria recorded the largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty globally, with an additional 17.9 million people affected between 2021 and 2024, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
The report showed that Nigeria’s earlier progress in reducing poverty between 2018 and 2021 was reversed during the following three years, as more households experienced overlapping disadvantages in health, education and living standards.
Nigeria recorded the largest absolute increase among countries assessed, followed by Afghanistan, where an additional 5.3 million people became multidimensionally poor.
The Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan were also identified among countries that experienced increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods.
NIGERIA’S POVERTY RATE RISES TO 38.7%
According to the report’s harmonised historical comparison, Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate increased from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024.
The number of people affected rose from 72.21 million to 90.07 million, while the country’s MPI value increased from 0.175 to 0.208, indicating a deterioration in living conditions.
However, a separate estimate based on Nigeria’s latest 2024 survey placed the number of multidimensionally poor people at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population.
The report explained that the higher estimate was calculated without the adjustments used to make historical figures comparable. Consequently, the two estimates should not be interpreted as contradictory or directly interchangeable.
It also indicated that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians experienced severe multidimensional poverty, while another 18.1 per cent were vulnerable to falling into poverty.
WHAT MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY MEANS
Unlike conventional poverty assessments that focus primarily on income, the Global MPI measures deprivation across three major dimensions: health, education and living standards.
The assessment considers nutrition, child mortality, school attendance, years of schooling, electricity, drinking water, sanitation, housing and ownership of basic household assets.
A person is classified as multidimensionally poor when their combined deprivations reach at least one-third of the index’s weighted indicators.
This means households may be classified as poor even when they earn some income, particularly where they lack essential services such as clean water, adequate sanitation, electricity, education or healthcare.
NORTHERN STATES FACE GREATER POVERTY BURDENS
The report identified significant differences in poverty levels across Nigerian states, with Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto among those facing the highest multidimensional poverty burdens.
Lagos recorded the lowest MPI value.
The findings also revealed that the factors contributing to poverty differed across states.
In Yobe, nutrition and child mortality accounted for substantial portions of deprivation, while limited access to drinking water and electricity contributed more significantly in Sokoto.
These differences highlight the importance of designing poverty-reduction programmes around the specific challenges affecting individual communities.
AFRICA ACCOUNTS FOR OVER HALF OF GLOBAL POVERTY
Globally, approximately 1.2 billion people, representing 18.9 per cent of the population covered by the index, were estimated to be living in acute multidimensional poverty.
Of that number, 534 million experienced severe poverty, while 952 million others were considered vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.
Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for approximately 616 million multidimensionally poor people, representing more than half of the global total.
Children were particularly affected, with an estimated 617 million people under 18 living in multidimensional poverty worldwide.
The findings indicated that approximately one in three children experienced multidimensional poverty, compared with one in seven adults.
The report underscores the continuing challenges facing Nigeria in expanding access to healthcare, education, electricity, clean water, sanitation and other essential services.
It also highlights the importance of sustained and targeted interventions to reverse the increase in poverty and protect households from further deprivation.
