By TheDailyNewsHub Reporter
An estimated 113 million Nigerians, representing 48.7 per cent of the country’s population, are experiencing overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards, according to figures associated with the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
Released on Monday, October 12, the report examines poverty beyond income, assessing whether people have access to essential services and basic conditions needed for a decent standard of living. Its indicators cover nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, electricity, sanitation, drinking water, housing, cooking fuel and household assets.
The report’s findings highlight the scale of deprivation in Nigeria and the difficulties facing efforts to reduce poverty across the country. They also show how improvements in national economic indicators may not automatically translate into better living conditions for households.
The report indicates that the average multidimensionally poor Nigerian experiences deprivation across 55 per cent of the weighted indicators. It also estimates that 28.7 per cent of Nigerians are living in severe multidimensional poverty, reflecting the depth of hardship experienced by a substantial share of the population.
The distinction between different poverty measures is important. The report’s full-indicator estimate places Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate at 48.7 per cent, while a separate comparable trend series shows that the rate rose from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024. Under that comparable series, the number of people affected increased from 72.2 million to 90.1 million, representing approximately 17.9 million additional people.
The two estimates should not be treated as contradictory. They use different calculations, with the comparable trend series excluding the nutrition indicator and reweighting the remaining indicators to allow comparison across survey periods.
The findings indicate that Nigeria has reversed part of the progress recorded in reducing multidimensional poverty during the previous decade. The comparable series shows that the poverty rate fell from 42.3 per cent in 2013 to 33 per cent in 2021 before rising again by 2024.
The burden is unevenly distributed across the country. Rural communities experience substantially higher poverty levels than urban areas, while the North-West and North-East carry particularly heavy burdens.
The report’s figures indicate that 68.9 per cent of rural Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, compared with 24.8 per cent of people living in urban areas. Severe poverty is also significantly more prevalent in rural communities, affecting 45.1 per cent of rural residents compared with 9.3 per cent in towns.
These disparities reflect differences in access to essential services, infrastructure and economic opportunities. Communities without reliable electricity, adequate sanitation, safe drinking water and accessible healthcare face overlapping disadvantages that can make it harder for families to improve their circumstances.
Access to clean cooking fuel and electricity emerged as major areas of deprivation. The report indicates that 47.4 per cent of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor and lack clean cooking fuel, while 37.6 per cent are poor and lack electricity.
Limited access to electricity affects household welfare, education, healthcare delivery and the ability of small businesses to operate reliably. Dependence on polluting cooking fuels can also expose households to harmful smoke, particularly where ventilation is inadequate.
The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index is designed to capture these overlapping hardships. A person is classified as multidimensionally poor when their household experiences deprivation amounting to at least one-third of the weighted indicators. The measure complements income-based poverty statistics by showing how disadvantages in essential services and living conditions combine.
Nigeria’s findings form part of a wider global assessment covering 108 developing countries, representing approximately 78 per cent of the world’s population. Across these countries, an estimated 1.2 billion people were living in acute multidimensional poverty, with the global total rising for the first time since the index was launched in 2010.
More than half of those affected globally were children, while approximately 83 per cent lived in rural areas. The report also found that 33 countries had halved their multidimensional poverty index value in fewer than 15 years, including six countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The findings suggest that progress remains possible when governments combine measures addressing healthcare, education, infrastructure and household living conditions. However, sustained implementation and effective targeting of resources are necessary to ensure that improvements reach the communities facing the greatest disadvantages.
For Nigeria, the report underscores the need to strengthen access to healthcare and education, expand electricity and clean water infrastructure, improve sanitation and housing, and provide social protection for vulnerable households.
The report does not attribute Nigeria’s rising poverty figures to a single policy or economic factor. Its findings nevertheless provide evidence that the country’s progress in reducing multidimensional deprivation has not been sustained.
As Nigeria continues to pursue economic reforms and development programmes, the challenge will be to ensure that progress is reflected in the everyday lives of citizens through better access to essential services, improved living conditions and greater opportunities for vulnerable communities.