Nigeria Records Highest Multidimensional Poverty Rate Under Tinubu, UNDP Report Shows
Nigeria recorded the highest multidimensional poverty rate among countries assessed in 2026, with the figure rising from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024, according to a report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
The report identified Nigeria, Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Kyrgyzstan and Guinea as countries where multidimensional poverty increased. Nigeria recorded the highest rise among the five nations.
The findings indicate that the country’s poverty situation worsened between 2021, during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and 2024, under President Bola Tinubu.
Multidimensional poverty goes beyond a lack of income to include inadequate access to essential services and basic living conditions, such as education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, sanitation and electricity.
According to the report, many Nigerian households continue to experience limited access to electricity and lack basic household assets, including televisions, radios, telephones, computers, bicycles, refrigerators and vehicles.
The report explained that a household is considered deprived under the asset ownership indicator if it does not own more than one of the listed items and does not have a car or truck.
While Nigeria and four other countries recorded increases in multidimensional poverty, Zambia, Egypt, Nepal, Angola and Tajikistan made significant progress in reducing their poverty rates.
Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions have been linked to the removal of fuel subsidies and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market under the Tinubu administration.
The removal of the petrol subsidy contributed to higher transportation costs, while the depreciation of the naira increased the cost of imported goods and placed additional pressure on households and businesses.
The combined effects of rising inflation and the increasing cost of essential commodities have continued to affect Nigerians’ purchasing power.
Amid mounting economic pressures, the Tinubu administration reportedly announced plans to reintroduce fuel subsidies through government-backed Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) stations as part of efforts to ease the burden on consumers. Under the reported arrangement, petrol would be sold at N1,350 per litre.
President Tinubu is seeking re-election in the presidential poll scheduled for January 2027.
As of the time of the report, the Nigerian government had not issued an immediate response to the findings by the UNDP and OPHI.
