Poverty Rate in Nigeria by Geo-Political Zone, According to NBS Report

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

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.

Poverty rate, Nigeria, geo-political zones
The report shows poverty is higher in the north. Credit: Horacio Villalobos / Contributor
Source: Getty Images

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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.

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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

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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.

  1. Kano, 10.51 million
  2. Kaduna, 8.04 million
  3. Katsina, 6.92 million
  4. Sokoto, 5.81 million
  5. Jigawa, 5.76 million
  6. Bauchi, 5.71 million
  7. Akwa Ibom, 5.08 million
  8. Benue, 4.71 million
  9. Rivers, 4.40 million
  10. Plateau, 4.32 million
  11. Kebbi, 4.28 million
  12. Lagos, 4.22 million
  13. Zamfara, 4.17 million
  14. Oyo, 3.79 million
  15. Ogun, 3.78 million
  16. Yobe, 3.23 million
  17. Gombe, 3.02 million
  18. Kogi, 2.88 million
  19. Taraba, 2.81 million
  20. Delta, 2.73 million
  21. Enugu, 2.63 million
  22. Bayelsa, 2.61 million
  23. Borno, 2.25 million
  24. Osun, 1.88 million
  25. Imo, 1.80 million
  26. Kwara, 1.72 million
  27. Anambra, 1.64 million
  28. FCT Abuja, 1.59 million
  29. Edo, 1.40 million
  30. Nasarawa, 1.36 million
  31. Ebonyi, 3.66 million
  32. Niger, 3.60 million
  33. Adamawa, 3.44 million
  34. Cross River, 3.44 million
  35. Ekiti, 1.31 million
  36. Ondo, 1.30 million
  37. Abia, 1.12 million

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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

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