• Nigeria’s poverty crisis has deepened significantly, with the World Bank reporting that 63% of Nigerians were living below the poverty line in 2025
• The report highlighted that household incomes have failed to keep pace with inflation
• The World Bank pointed to structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s economy as a major reason poverty remains high

Nigeria’s poverty rate climbed to 63 percent in 2025, despite a notable slowdown in inflation, underscoring the limited impact of macroeconomic improvements on everyday living conditions, the World Bank has said.

The revelation was contained in the April 2026 edition of the Nigeria Development Update titled “Nigeria’s Tomorrow Must Start Today: The Case for Early Childhood Development,” unveiled in Abuja.

According to the report, poverty levels have steadily worsened in recent years, rising from 56 percent in 2023 to 61 percent in 2024, before reaching 63 percent in 2025. This translates to roughly 140 million Nigerians living below the poverty line.

The World Bank stated, “Household incomes have not grown fast enough to offset still-elevated inflation, and poverty has yet to begin declining.”

Although inflation has begun to ease, the report noted that the lingering effects of previous price surges continue to erode real incomes.

It added that external factors, including the Middle East conflict, have sustained high costs of energy, food, and transportation, further straining low-income households.

Beyond inflationary pressures, the report highlighted deeper structural challenges hindering poverty reduction. Nigeria’s economic growth, it explained, has been largely concentrated in services and industry, while agriculture, employing a significant portion of the poor, has underperformed.

“Growth in the agriculture sector, where more than half of the poor work, has lagged services and industry, constraining the pace of poverty reduction,” the report stated.

This imbalance has weakened the connection between economic growth and improved living standards, particularly for vulnerable populations.

The World Bank stressed that without inclusive, job-driven growth, meaningful poverty reduction will remain elusive.

Looking ahead, the report projects a gradual decline in poverty beginning in 2026, driven by easing inflation and improving macroeconomic stability.

Poverty levels are expected to drop to about 59 percent by 2028.

However, the Bank warned that progress could be slowed by weak job creation, low agricultural productivity, and persistent inequality.

It emphasised the need for targeted reforms aimed at improving livelihoods and expanding access to productive employment.

The report also linked poverty to poor human capital outcomes, noting that low-income households face significant challenges in nutrition, healthcare, and early childhood development, factors that perpetuate long-term inequality.

This surge in poverty comes even as inflation declined sharply.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed headline inflation fell from 34.80 percent in December 2024 to 15.15 percent in December 2025.

Food inflation also dropped significantly from 39.84 percent to 10.84 percent within the same period.

Despite these improvements, the World Bank maintained that reduced inflation has yet to translate into better living standards, as earlier price spikes have already weakened purchasing power.

More Nigerians will become poor by 2027 – World Bank

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the World Bank reported that more Nigerians will become poor by 2027 as poverty will increase in Nigeria by three percentage points between 2022 and 2027, despite the country’s resource-rich status.

According to the report, poverty rates in resource-rich, fragile countries, including Nigeria, are expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points between 2022 and 2027, making it the only group in Sub-Saharan Africa with a projected rise in poverty.

The report noted that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest extreme poverty rate globally, with a large share of the poor concentrated in a few countries.