FG Issues 2022 Poverty Index, Says 130m Nigerians Are Poor

The Federal Government, via the National Bureau of Statistics, on Thursday stated that 130 million Nigerians are poor.

In its 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey issued in Abuja on Thursday, the NBS said the figure represents 63 percent of the nation’s population.

It added that the poverty index is majorly experienced in rural areas mostly in the north with women and children being the most affected.

The survey was conducted by the NBS, the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

It was gathered that the measure used to calculate the figure was centered on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) with five components of health, living standard, education, security, and unemployment.

According to the survey, over 50 percent of children nationwide are affected by poverty.

In his remarks, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, maintained that 56,610 households were surveyed and areas such as health, education, living standards, food security, water reliability, underemployment, security shocks, and school attendance were considered.

While the multidimensional poverty index stood at 27 percent in Ondo State, the figure is estimated at 90 percent in Sokoto state.