Poverty Rate in Nigeria by Geo-Political Zone, According to NBS Report
- A recent report by Nigeria's data body, the National Bureau of Statistics, shows that 133 million Nigerians are poor
- Most of the poor people are highly concentrated in the northern region of the country, despite monthly federal allocations
- Poverty by zones shows that the northwest is the epicentre of poverty in the country, with over 45 million poor people
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released a report on the poverty rate in Nigeria. The report shows that about 133 million Nigerians live in poverty, representing 64 per cent of the entire population.
The NBS report surpasses the World Bank projection for Nigeria's poverty rate, which says that about 95.1 million Nigerians will fall into the poverty bracket in 2022.
Source: Getty Images
Poverty higher in rural areas of Nigeria
The NBS report states that Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor, taking into account various aspects of poverty indicators, including money poverty, food poverty, and security.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!
The report also revealed that Nigeria is plagued with urban and rural poverty, with the poverty rate higher in rural areas.
According to the report, about 70 per cent of Nigerians living in rural areas are poor, while 30 per cent of urban dwellers live in poverty.
The report also spotlights Nigeria's poorest states and poorest zones. It shows poverty is higher in the north than in the south, with the northwest being the epicentre of poverty in Nigeria.
Despite the monthly allocation by the federal government, the states in the north, mostly plagued by insurgency, banditry and general insecurity, have remained poor.
Poverty by geopolitical zones
Four of the five poorest states in Nigeria are from the north, while Bayelsa, an oil-producing state, is shockingly ranked second on the index.
North-central and northeast follow the northwest.
The poorest geo-political zones are:
- North West has 45.49 million people living in poverty
- North East has 20.47 million people living in poverty
- North Central, with about 20.19 million people living in poverty
- South-South has a high number of people living in poverty, with 19.66 million.
- South West has about 16.27 million people being poor.
- And South East is the least poor zone in Nigeria, with 10.86 million living in poverty.
A breakdown of poverty by state shows Sokoto as the state with the highest poverty.
- Kano, 10.51 million
- Kaduna, 8.04 million
- Katsina, 6.92 million
- Sokoto, 5.81 million
- Jigawa, 5.76 million
- Bauchi, 5.71 million
- Akwa Ibom, 5.08 million
- Benue, 4.71 million
- Rivers, 4.40 million
- Plateau, 4.32 million
- Kebbi, 4.28 million
- Lagos, 4.22 million
- Zamfara, 4.17 million
- Oyo, 3.79 million
- Ogun, 3.78 million
- Yobe, 3.23 million
- Gombe, 3.02 million
- Kogi, 2.88 million
- Taraba, 2.81 million
- Delta, 2.73 million
- Enugu, 2.63 million
- Bayelsa, 2.61 million
- Borno, 2.25 million
- Osun, 1.88 million
- Imo, 1.80 million
- Kwara, 1.72 million
- Anambra, 1.64 million
- FCT Abuja, 1.59 million
- Edo, 1.40 million
- Nasarawa, 1.36 million
- Ebonyi, 3.66 million
- Niger, 3.60 million
- Adamawa, 3.44 million
- Cross River, 3.44 million
- Ekiti, 1.31 million
- Ondo, 1.30 million
- Abia, 1.12 million
5 states lead as NBS reports that 133 million Nigerians are living in poverty
Recall that Legit.ng reported that the National Bureau of Statistics stated that about 133 million Nigerians are now poor.
The NBS, in its National Multidimensional Poverty Index report on Thursday, November 17, 2022, said that about 63 per cent of Nigerians were poor due to a lack of access to health, education, living standards, employment and security.
The Index offers different levels of poverty assessment, identifying deprivations across health, education, living standards, work and shocks.
Source: Legit.ng
