Poverty levels in Nigeria rose to 63 percent in 2025, despite a notable decline in inflation, according to the World Bank.
The figure was revealed in the bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update (April 2026) titled “Nigeria’s Tomorrow Must Start Today: The Case for Early Childhood Development,” released in Abuja.
The report showed a steady increase in poverty over recent years, rising from 56 percent in 2023 to 61 percent in 2024, and reaching 63 percent in 2025—equivalent to approximately 140 million Nigerians living below the poverty line.
This trend persisted even as inflation began to ease, highlighting a gap between slowing price increases and improvements in household income. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that headline inflation dropped significantly from 34.80 percent in December 2024 to 15.15 percent in December 2025. Food inflation also declined sharply during the same period.
Despite this progress, the World Bank noted that inflation levels remained high enough to continue eroding purchasing power and worsening living standards.
“Household incomes have not grown fast enough to offset still-elevated inflation, and poverty has yet to begin declining,” the report stated.
The bank attributed the persistence of poverty to the lingering effects of earlier inflation spikes, which had already weakened real incomes before the recent slowdown in price increases.
It also pointed to global pressures, including tensions in the Middle East, which have driven up the cost of energy, food, and transportation, further affecting low-income households.
Beyond inflation, structural challenges continue to limit poverty reduction. The report observed that economic growth in Nigeria has been largely driven by the services and industrial sectors, while agriculture where a majority of poor Nigerians are employed has lagged behind.
“Growth in the agriculture sector has trailed services and industry, constraining the pace of poverty reduction,” the report added.
Credit: Vanguard
