Nigeria has suffered a reversal in efforts to reduce multidimensional poverty, with both the proportion of people affected and their total number rising in the 2020s, as global poverty climbed by 51.5 million to 1.2 billion people.

The latest global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), marked the first increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty since the index was introduced in 2010.

The report showed that children accounted for 617 million of the 1.2 billion people affected, while 83 per cent of those living in multidimensional poverty were in rural areas.

Nigeria, which recorded substantial improvements during the previous decade, was among the countries that lost ground in the 2020s, highlighting the difficulty of sustaining poverty reduction over time.

UNDP Administrator, Alexander De Croo, said the increase should prompt renewed international efforts to address the overlapping hardships faced by vulnerable populations.

“The rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for the world. Behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity,” he said.

De Croo noted that countries had shown that poverty could be reduced when governments addressed its different dimensions together rather than treating each problem separately.

The index assesses deprivation beyond income, using 10 weighted indicators covering health, education and living standards. People are classified as multidimensionally poor when they are deprived in at least one-third of the indicators.

Its 2026 edition covers 108 countries in developing regions, representing 78 per cent of the global population.

The report attributed part of the increase in the global poverty figure to population growth. In 95 countries without new survey data for the latest assessment, revised population estimates added 15.8 million people to the number counted as multidimensionally poor.

Other changes reflected a combination of shifts in poverty levels, demographic changes and differences in the indicators covered by surveys conducted at different times.

Despite the overall increase, the report found that some countries had continued to make progress. Of the 13 countries with newly updated poverty estimates, five recorded significant reductions in the proportion of their populations living in multidimensional poverty.

Egypt, Nepal and Tajikistan reduced both their poverty rates and the number of people affected. Angola and Zambia also lowered the proportion of their populations living in poverty, although population growth outpaced the reductions, leaving more people affected in absolute terms.

The findings also showed that sustained progress was possible despite the scale of the global challenge.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 1.2 requires countries to halve the proportion of men, women and children living in poverty in all its dimensions by 2030.

Of 89 countries with data tracking changes over time, 33 had cut their MPI values by at least half in fewer than 15 years. Six of those countries were in Sub-Saharan Africa.

However, the report identified a wide gap between rural and urban poverty, with 72 per cent of rural residents affected, and compared with 42 per cent of people living in urban areas.

The findings come amid continued concern over the rising cost of living and the pressure on household welfare in Nigeria.

In April 2026, the World Bank reported that Nigeria’s poverty rate had increased from 56 per cent in 2023 to 63 per cent in 2025, leaving about 140 million people in poverty.

The bank attributed the trend partly to household incomes failing to keep pace with rising living costs and weak growth in agriculture, a sector that provides livelihoods for many poor Nigerians.