Business Insider presents the 10 poorest states in Nigeria and their MPIs.
More than half the population of the country is living in poverty. The list is courtesy of a report from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa, housing over 200 million people. With such an overwhelming population comes a considerable disparity in the availability of resources, both on the state and national levels. The National Bureau of Statistics recently released a publication detailing meticulously, the state of poverty within the heart of Africa. The National Bureau of Statistics measured poverty in each state using a metric system known as the Multidimensional Poverty Index(MPI). The MPI is in itself determined by four key indicators, including health, education, living standards, and work and shocks. The data for this report was gathered via a survey which saw to the collation of over 50000 responses from a deliberately-formulated questionnaire, nationwide. Therefore, the Nigeria MPI (2022) survey questionnaire included additional variables that were relevant given the new context and national priorities such as food security, water reliability, underemployment, security shocks, school lag, and child deprivations.
According to the report, some more generalized findings include the overall percentage of people who are multidimensionally poor, which stands at 63% of people out of 133 million.
“The Nigeria MPI is 0.257, showing that poor people in Nigeria experience just over one-quarter of all possible deprivations. The value ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 reflecting zero poverty and 1 universal poverty and deprivation.”
Another key takeaway from the report reads; “72% of people are poor, compared to 42% of people in urban areas. Approximately 70% of Nigeria’s population live in rural areas, yet these areas are home to 80% of poor people; the intensity of rural poverty is also higher: 42% in rural areas compared to 37% in urban areas.”
Below is a list of ten of the poorest states in Nigeria, and their MPIs
- Sokoto: 0.409
- Bayelsa: 0.401
- Jigawa: 0.385
- Kebbi: 0.385
- Gombe: 0.380
- Yobe: 0.370
- Plateau: 0.365
- Taraba: 0.340
- Zamfara: 0.328
- Ebonyi: 0.320