Nigeria launches its most extensive national measure of multidimensional poverty to date
ABUJA - The Federal Government of Nigeria launches a new policy tool for measuring poverty in Nigeria today, which finds that 63% of people – 133 million Nigerians – are multidimensionally poor.
The Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (2022) is built from 15 indicators grouped within four dimensions health, education, living standards, and work and shocks. A household is considered poor if they are deprived in more than one dimension, or the equivalent share (26%) of the weighted indicators measured in the MPI.
The Nigeria MPI (2022) is based on the most extensive survey of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria to date. It was undertaken between November 2021 and February 2022 and was designed to cover 36 states, FCT Abuja, and 109 Senatorial Districts. The scale of the survey is the largest of any survey fielded specifically for multidimensional poverty anywhere in the world signalling the commitment of Nigeria to addressing poverty in the country.
The Nigeria MPI (2022) finds that 65% of multidimensionally poor Nigerians – 86 million people – live in the North, while 35% – nearly 47 million – live in the South. Poverty levels across States vary significantly, with the incidence of multidimensional poverty ranging from a low of 27% in Ondo to a high of 91% in Sokoto. Multidimensional poverty is higher in rural areas, where 72% of people are poor, compared to 42% of people in urban areas.
Over half of the population of Nigeria are multidimensionally poor and cook with dung, wood or charcoal, rather than cleaner energy. High deprivations among the multidimensionally poor are also apparent nationally in sanitation, time to healthcare, food insecurity, and housing.
The Nigeria MPI (2022) is reported with a linked child MPI which provides an additional focus on child poverty in Nigeria. Two-thirds (68%) of children (0–17) are multidimensionally poor according to the Nigeria MPI. When measured by the linked child MPI, which adds specific indicators for children under 5, this rises to 84%.
At the launch event, a wide range of stakeholders supporting the project shared goodwill messages and emphasised the importance of evidence-based policies to address poverty in Nigeria and to achieve the SDGs. High-level representatives from the European Union, the Canadian High Commission, the United Nations Development Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council remarked on how the MPI helps create a clearer picture of poverty in Nigeria. Speakers noted the ongoing challenges for Nigeria in terms of flooding, inflation and insecurity, highlighted insights from the report – particularly with regard to women and children – and welcomed the introduction of this MPI as a measurement and policy tool.
The Honourable Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, shared the story of the development of MPI in Nigeria, which builds upon an earlier MPI developed in 2018, and how the Nigeria MPI (2022) provides the richest household level data available to policymakers in recent times. He underscored the importance of understanding the levels of poverty by state and regions and how the composition of poverty varies between them.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, delivered the keynote speech by The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, whose remarks challenged all partners and stakeholders to use the 'endless possibilities' of the MPI, which 'untangles the interlinked deprivations of poverty in Nigeria' and who hoped that all policy actors would 'rise to the challenge' and 'move the needle on poverty'. President Buhari's address highlighted that poverty has 'a face of rural origin', as well as a face of children and women, and outlined concrete policies that will build on the data of the MPI to achieve poverty reduction. These policies included: integrating the MPI with the National Social Register (NSR) led by the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) for joined-up targeting and monitoring of poor households; embedding the MPI in the Medium-Term National Development Plans (2021–2026 & 2026–2030) as a measurement and policy tool for poverty reduction; integrating the MPI with the National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework at the Ministry of Budget and National Planning; and, informing a Data Demand and Use Strategy, in which key activities include supporting States to use the MPI results during the State budgeting process.
The Nigeria MPI (2022) was constructed by the National Bureau of Statistics under government leadership following extensive consultations with experts in Nigeria to reflect the priorities of poverty in Nigeria. The measure was constructed with technical assistance from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the University of Oxford. The process was supported by the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and Global Affairs Canada.
Download the Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (2022) report