The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate rose to 38.7 percent in 2024 from 33 percent in 2021.
In its 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report released on Monday, the UN body stated that an additional 17.9 million Nigerians slipped into poverty during the period.
The report co-produced by 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.
The report said Nigeria recorded the largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty among the five countries that experienced a rise over their latest measurement periods.
Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Kyrgyzstan were the other countries.
It said the increase reversed the progress Nigeria recorded between 2018 and 2021, when the proportion of people living in multidimensional poverty declined.
The report noted that Nigeria’s MPI value rose from 0.175 in 2021 to 0.208 in 2024, indicating an increase in the combined incidence and intensity of deprivation.
The intensity of deprivation among multidimensionally poor Nigerians also increased from 52.9 percent to 53.6 percent during the period.
Unlike income-based measures, which assess poverty based on how much people earn or spend, the MPI examines overlapping disadvantages experienced by people 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 if their household experiences deprivation in at least one-third of the weighted indicators.
The measure captures circumstances in which people may experience several disadvantages simultaneously, such as inadequate access to education, electricity, clean water and sanitation.
