According to Nigeria, 133 million people live in poverty.

According to a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, the figure represents 63 percent of Nigeria’s population living in poverty (OPHI).

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Survey for Nigeria was unveiled on Thursday in Abuja, with President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, serving as a representative.

According to Buhari, the index was chosen because it offers a means of identifying poverty and addressing it via governmental initiatives.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which has five components including health, living standard, education, security, and unemployment, was the basis for the indices used to determine the poverty line in Nigeria.

According to the research, “nearly half of Nigeria’s population is multidimensionally poor and prefers to cook with dung, wood, or charcoal over cleaner energy sources. Sanitation, accessibility to healthcare, food instability, and housing are among areas of high deprivations in the country.

“Across most states, the prevalence of monetary poverty is often lower than the prevalence of multidimensional poverty. According to the national monetary poverty line for 2018–19 and the National MPI 2022, respectively, 40.1% and 63% of Nigerians, respectively, are multidimensionally poor.

According to the survey, which was conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 and sampled more than 56,000 households across the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT, 65 percent of the poor—or 86 million people—live in the North, while 35 percent—or nearly 47 million people—do so in the South.

According to the study, Sokoto State has the highest rate of poverty among all the states at 91%, while Ondo has the lowest rate at 27%.