The World Bank has revealed that 75.5% of rural Nigerians are living below the poverty line, highlighting a deepening economic crisis in the country’s remote areas.
The grim statistic was part of the Bank’s April 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria, which paints a dire picture of economic hardship, persistent inequality, and underdevelopment across the nation. The report underscores how rural communities are disproportionately affected by inflation, insecurity, and a lack of access to basic services.
According to the World Bank, poverty in Nigeria is becoming increasingly entrenched. It cited data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, showing that as of 2018/19, 30.9% of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per person per day — a figure recorded even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report also revealed stark regional disparities. In 2018/19, poverty in Nigeria’s northern zones stood at 46.5%, compared to just 13.5% in the southern regions. Inequality, measured by the Gini index, was estimated at 35.1, reflecting the uneven distribution of wealth and opportunity across the country.
The World Bank noted that Nigeria’s Prosperity Gap — the average factor by which personal incomes would need to increase to reach a $25-per-day prosperity benchmark — is 10.2. This figure surpasses that of most of Nigeria’s economic peers and reflects chronic structural deficiencies.
Children are among the hardest hit, with the report noting that 72.5% of Nigerians aged 0–14 live in poverty. Education also remains a strong predictor of income levels, with 79.5% of people without formal education living in poverty, compared to just 25.4% among those with tertiary education.
The report also highlighted widespread multidimensional poverty. As of the latest assessment:
- 30.9% of Nigerians live on less than $2.15 daily
- 32.6% lack access to improved drinking water
- 45.1% do not have access to improved sanitation
- 39.4% are without electricity
In addition, 17.6% of adults have not completed primary school, and 9% of households report that at least one school-aged child is not enrolled — underscoring gaps in educational access and attainment.
The Bank stated that even before COVID-19, progress in poverty reduction had stalled, with the rate of extreme poverty declining by only half a percentage point annually since 2010. Despite recent macroeconomic reforms by the Nigerian government, the World Bank warned that rising inflation continues to erode household incomes, especially in urban areas where wages have not kept pace with the cost of living.
The report calls for urgent policy action to protect vulnerable populations from economic shocks and to stimulate job creation through more productive and inclusive growth strategies.
