Data released by the World Bank reveals that over 129 million Nigerians are currently living in poverty.
The World Bank made this statement in its recently published Nigeria Development Update report.
According to the global institution, rising headline inflation has driven millions of Nigerians into hunger.
As a result, the official percentage of Nigerians living in poverty has increased from 40.1% in 2018 to 56% in 2024.
The report by the World Bank stated that, “With growth proving too slow to outpace inflation, poverty has risen sharply. Since 2018, the share of Nigerians living below the national poverty line is estimated to have risen sharply from 40.1 per cent to 56.0 per cent.
“Combined with population growth, this means that some 129 million Nigerians are living in poverty. This stark increase partly reflects Nigeria’s beleaguered growth record. Real GDP per capita has not recovered to the level it was at prior to the oil price-induced recession in 2016.”
The apex bank also noted that being employed does not guarantee not being poor in the country.
“Being employed, however, is no guarantee of being able to escape poverty. Many jobs are not productive and therefore remunerative enough to afford a life beyond poverty,” the report said.
“Jobs hold the key to sharing the proceeds of growth. Since Nigeria has a young and growing population, the jobs that can harness the country’s potential ‘demographic dividend’ are needed now.
“The COVID-19 pandemic compounded this drop in economic activity. Moreover, growth is failing to outpace inflation: large increases in prices across almost all goods have diminished purchasing power.”
Economic insecurity has intensified and expanded overall insecurity in the country, it also noted.
The World Bank stated that, “Multiple shocks in a context of high economic insecurity have deepened and broadened poverty, with over 115 million Nigerians estimated to have been poor in 2023. Since 2018/19, an additional nearly 35 million people have fallen into poverty, so that more than half of Nigerians (51.1 per cent of the population in 2023) are now estimated to live in poverty.”
The World Bank noted that there was an increase from 115 million in 2023 to 129 million in 2024, which means that 14 million Nigerians have become poorer this year.
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It said, “Several shocks have contributed to this major increase and changing profile of the poor: the COVID-19 recession, natural disasters such as flooding, growing insecurity, the high cost of the demonetization policy in Q1 2023, high inflation, and low economic growth.
“Previous domestic policy missteps compounded the effects of the shocks, particularly rising inflation, eroding the purchasing power, especially of urban households, pushing many into poverty. The government is ramping up the cash transfer programs to support economically insecure households to help weather the crisis.”
It further revealed that while poverty continues to be primarily a rural issue, urban poverty has increased significantly, with 31.3% of urban residents now living in poverty, up from 18% in 2018.
Many Nigerians have been expressing their frustrations over increased hardship under Bola Tinubu since he assumed the presidency on May 29, 2023, following the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the foreign exchange.
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