Poverty Crisis: 75.5% of Rural Nigerians Struggling to Survive – World Bank
The World Bank has released a report on Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis, showing that 75.5% of the rural population now lives below the poverty line, amid rising income disparities and severe economic hardship.
According to the World Bank April 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria, a staggering 41.3% of Nigeria’s urban population lives in poverty, with a significantly worse situation in rural areas, as economic stagnation, inflation, and insecurity continue to characterize the country’s growth trajectory in recent years.
Per the report, 30.9% of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to survey data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The World Bank estimated that over 54% of Nigerians will be living in poverty by 2024, due to multiple economic shocks, mounting insecurity, and uncontrolled inflation.
This translates to an additional 42 million people falling into the poverty line over the past six years.
The apex bank emphasized that poverty persists unevenly nationwide, with significant regional disparities and economic divides, despite efforts to foster inclusive growth.
The report reads “Nigeria remains spatially unequal. The poverty rate in northern geopolitical zones was 46.5 per cent in 2018/19, compared with 13.5 per cent for southern ones. Inequality measured by the Gini index was estimated at 35.1 in 2018/19.”
It added that “Nigeria’s Prosperity Gap — the average factor by which individuals’ incomes must be multiplied to attain a prosperity standard of $25 per day for all — is estimated at 10.2, higher than most peers.”
The bank’s analysis of demographic trends across social groups revealed that children aged 0-14 years had a poverty rate of 72.5%, while 63.9% of females and 63.1% of males lived below the lower-middle-income poverty line of $3.65 per day
It also showed how differences in education levels significantly influence poverty status. Nigerians without formal education had a poverty rate of 79.5%, those with primary education had 61.9%, and those with secondary education had 50.0%.
However, only individuals with tertiary education saw comparatively lower poverty levels at 25.4 per cent.
The report addressed the severity of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria, highlighting key indicators: 9% of households have at least one school-aged child not enrolled in school, 17.6% of adults haven’t completed primary education, 30.9% survive on less than $2.15 daily, 32.6% lack access to standard drinking water, 45.1% lack standard sanitation, and 39.4% have no electricity.
The World Bank attributed the slow progress to Nigeria’s structural economic challenges, including dependence on oil, limited diversification, low job creation, and vulnerability to climate shocks impacting rural agriculture, a primary source of rural livelihoods.
The report read, “Multiple shocks in a context of high economic insecurity have deepened and broadened poverty. Since 2018/19, an additional 42 million people fell into poverty, so that more than half of all Nigerians (54 per cent) are estimated to live in poverty in 2024, based on World Bank projections.
“Although recent macroeconomic reforms have begun to stabilize the economy, inflation remains high, dampening consumer demand and continuing to undermine the purchasing power of Nigerians. Labor incomes have not kept up with inflation, pushing many Nigerians, particularly in urban areas, into poverty.”
The World Bank noted recent government efforts to stabilize the economy, but emphasized that beyond temporary measures, such as cash transfers for 15 million households, the country must strengthen its poverty alleviation programs, invest in education, health, and infrastructure, and diversify the economy.
