17.9 Million Nigerians Fall Into Multidimensional Poverty In Three Years, The World’s Largest Increase — UN Report Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in multidimensional poverty, with 17.9 million additional people falling into poverty between 2021 and 2024, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index. The report, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, showed a reversal of Nigeria’s progress in poverty reduction between 2018 and 2021. Nigeria recorded a higher increase than Afghanistan, where 5.3 million additional people became multidimensionally poor during its latest assessment period. “In absolute terms, the largest increase in the number of poor people is seen in Nigeria… 17.9 million people became multidimensionally poor,” the report stated. The index measures deprivation beyond income, including access to healthcare, education, electricity, clean water, sanitation, adequate housing and nutrition. According to the report’s harmonised comparison, Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate rose from 33 per cent in 2021 to 38.7 per cent in 2024, while the number of affected people increased from 72.21 million to 90.07 million. A separate 2024 national estimate put the number of multidimensionally poor Nigerians at 113.32 million, representing 48.7 per cent of the population. The figure uses a different estimation method and is not directly comparable with the historical comparison. The report identified Kebbi, Yobe and Sokoto among the states with the highest poverty burdens, while Lagos recorded the lowest Multidimensional Poverty Index value. Globally, 1.2 billion people were living in acute multidimensional poverty, including 617 million children under 18. The findings highlight Nigeria’s challenge in achieving the United Nations’ goal of reducing poverty in all its forms by at least half by 2030.