The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), on Thursday said 130 million Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the nation’s population are poor.
In its 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey released in Abuja on Thursday, the Bureau that the poverty index is mostly experienced in rural areas especially in the north with women and children being the most hit.
The poverty index survey was conducted by the 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 (OPHI).
The measure, it was was gathered, was used to calculate the figure was based on Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) with five components of health, living standard, education, security, and unemployment.
The survey noted over 50 per cent of children across the country are affected by poverty. While the multidimensional poverty index stood at 27 per cent in Ondo State, the figure is estimated at 90 percent in Sokoto state.
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, in his remarks, noted that 56,610 households were surveyed and areas such as health, education, living standards, food security, water reliability, underemployment, security shocks, and school attendance were considered.