Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in multidimensional poverty, with 17.9 million additional people falling into poverty between 2021 and 2024, according to the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index.
The report, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, showed a reversal of Nigeria’s progress in poverty reduction between 2018 and 2021.
Nigeria recorded a higher increase than Afghanistan, where 5.3 million additional people became multidimensionally poor during its latest assessment period.
