The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reported that Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate increased from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024.
In its 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, released on Monday, the UN agency said an additional 17.9 million Nigerians fell into poverty during the period.
The report, jointly produced with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), estimates that 90.1 million Nigerians were living in multidimensional poverty in 2024, compared with 72.2 million in 2021.
According to the report, Nigeria recorded the largest increase in the number of people experiencing multidimensional poverty among five countries that registered a rise during their latest measurement periods.
The other countries were Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.
The report said the increase reversed the progress Nigeria had made between 2018 and 2021, when the proportion of people living in multidimensional poverty declined.
It also showed that Nigeria’s MPI value rose from 0.175 in 2021 to 0.208 in 2024, reflecting an increase in both the incidence and intensity of deprivation.
The intensity of deprivation among Nigerians classified as multidimensionally poor also increased from 52.9 per cent to 53.6 per cent within the period.
What is multidimensional poverty?
Unlike income-based measures, which determine poverty according to how much people earn or spend, the MPI examines the overlapping disadvantages people experience in their daily lives.
The global MPI measures deprivation across three dimensions: health, education and standard of living.
Its 10 indicators include nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and household assets.
A person is classified as multidimensionally poor when their household experiences deprivation in at least one-third of the weighted indicators.
The measure captures situations in which people face several disadvantages simultaneously, including inadequate access to education, electricity, clean water and sanitation.
The report clarified that its estimates are based on household survey data collected in different years. Nigeria’s latest estimate is based on 2024 data and does not represent a direct measurement of poverty in 2026.
Nigeria’s poverty progress reversed
The report said Nigeria had recorded a decline in multidimensional poverty in the years preceding the latest increase.
The country’s MPI value fell from 0.230 in 2013 to 0.202 in 2018 and 0.175 in 2021 before rising to 0.208 in 2024.
The proportion of Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty followed a similar trend, declining from 42.3 per cent in 2013 to 37.2 per cent in 2018 and 33 per cent in 2021 before increasing to 38.7 per cent in 2024.
The number of people affected also dropped from 76.3 million in 2018 to 72.2 million in 2021 before climbing to 90.1 million in 2024.
The latest figures indicate that the country has been unable to sustain its earlier progress in reducing multidimensional poverty.
The report also highlighted substantial differences in deprivation across Nigeria’s subnational regions.
Multidimensional poverty incidence ranges from 3.7 per cent to 88.3 per cent across the regions covered by the analysis.
It compared Yobe and Sokoto, two of Nigeria’s poorest subnational regions with similar MPI values, to illustrate how the types of deprivation experienced by communities can differ even when their overall poverty levels are comparable.
According to the report, these differences highlight the importance of examining individual deprivation indicators rather than relying solely on aggregate poverty figures.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest multidimensional poverty burden
Beyond Nigeria, the report estimates that 1.2 billion people across 108 countries live in acute multidimensional poverty.
This represents 18.9 per cent of the 6.3 billion people covered by the index.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest multidimensional poverty rate of all the world’s regions, with 616 million people, or 51.4 per cent of its population, living in poverty.
The region accounts for more than half of the world’s multidimensionally poor population.
South Asia follows, with 393 million people living in multidimensional poverty.
The report found that 83.3 per cent of the world’s multidimensionally poor population, equivalent to about 998 million people, live in rural areas, compared with 200 million in urban areas.
The incidence of poverty in rural areas stands at 28.7 per cent, compared with seven per cent in urban areas.
Children also bear a disproportionate share of the burden.
Those below the age of 18 account for 617 million, or 51.5 per cent, of the world’s multidimensionally poor population.
Globally, approximately one in every three children lives in multidimensional poverty, compared with one in seven adults.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 355 million children experience multidimensional poverty, accounting for 57.7 per cent of the region’s poor population.
Global multidimensional poverty increases
The report said the number of people living in multidimensional poverty worldwide increased for the first time since the index was launched in 2010.
The latest estimate of 1.2 billion represents an increase of 51.5 million people compared with the previous update.
Of the 1.2 billion people living in multidimensional poverty, 534 million, or 44.6 per cent, experience severe poverty. This means they are deprived in at least half of the weighted indicators.
A further 952 million people are considered vulnerable to multidimensional poverty because they experience significant deprivation across multiple indicators but do not meet the threshold for classification as poor.
The report covers 108 countries and represents approximately 78 per cent of the world’s population.
Despite the overall increase, the report found that progress in reducing multidimensional poverty remains achievable.
Of the 89 countries with data that allow comparisons over time, 33 have reduced their MPI values by at least half in fewer than 15 years, including six countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The findings are relevant to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing by at least half, by 2030, the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions.
The report said the global figures highlight the need for renewed efforts to tackle overlapping forms of deprivation while demonstrating that substantial reductions in multidimensional poverty are possible.