Nigeria has recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty, with an additional 17.9 million citizens affected between 2021 and 2024, according to a report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
The report, released on Monday, October 12, 2026, indicated that Nigeria experienced a significant reversal in its poverty reduction progress, with millions more people facing multiple forms of deprivation.
According to the report, Nigeria recorded the highest absolute increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty during the period, surpassing Afghanistan, which recorded an increase of 5.3 million people.
The findings highlight the growing challenges facing efforts to improve living conditions in Africa’s most populous country, where millions of households continue to struggle with access to essential services and basic necessities.
Multidimensional poverty goes beyond a lack of income. It measures overlapping disadvantages in areas such as education, healthcare, nutrition, electricity, access to clean drinking water, sanitation and housing.
Under the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index methodology, people are classified as multidimensionally poor when they experience significant deprivation across several indicators of living standards, health and education.
The report’s harmonised historical estimates showed that 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 approximately 72.2 million to 90.1 million over the same period.
A separate national estimate based on Nigeria’s latest available survey put the number of people living in multidimensional poverty at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population. The figures are based on different estimation approaches and should not be treated as directly interchangeable.
Nigeria was among five countries that recorded increases in multidimensional poverty during their respective assessment periods. The others were Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan.
Globally, approximately 1.2 billion people across 108 countries were estimated to be living in acute multidimensional poverty, according to the report.
The latest findings raise concerns about the challenges confronting Nigeria’s poverty reduction efforts, particularly amid persistent difficulties in accessing basic amenities, education, healthcare and other essential services.
