Tuesday, August 26, 2025
24.1 C
Lagos

UNDP Report Classifies 98m Nigerians as Poor

The traditional concept of poverty is outdated, according to a new report released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

Findings from the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) sheds light on disparities in how people experience poverty, revealing vast inequalities among countries and among the poor themselves.

The report reveals that in Nigeria, even though the proportion of people who are multi-dimensionally poor has remained constant at just over 50% over the past decade (up to 2017) the actual number of people who are multi-dimensionally poor increased from 86 million to 98 million over the same period. Also, important to note from the report is that when compared to the national poverty line which measure income/consumption, a larger proportion of Nigerians (51%) are multi-dimensionally poor than those that are income poor (46%).

This year’s MPI results show that more than two-thirds of the multi-dimensionally poor—886 million people—live in middle-income countries. A further 440 million live in low-income countries. In both groups, data show, simple national averages can hide enormous inequality in patterns of poverty within countries.

For instance, in Nigeria, even though the national average shows that around 50% of Nigeria are multi-dimensionally poor, state and local government levels will reveal a completely different scenario – higher or even lower levels.

There is even inequality under the same roof.  In South Asia, for example, almost a quarter of children under five live in households where at least one child in the household is malnourished and at least one child is not.

“We need—even amongst those living in poverty—to understand people’s different experiences of deprivation. Are they malnourished? Can they go to school? Only then will poverty reduction policies be both efficient and effective,“ says Pedro Conceição, Director of the Human Development Report Office at UNDP.

There is also inequality among the poor. Findings of the 2019 global MPI also paint a detailed picture of the many differences in how – and how deeply – people experience poverty. Deprivations among the poor vary enormously: in general, higher MPI values go hand in hand with greater variation in the intensity of poverty.

Results also show that children suffer poverty more intensely than adults and are more likely to be deprived in all 10 of the MPI indicators, lacking essentials such as clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition or primary education.

Even more staggering, worldwide, one in three children is multi-dimensionally poor, compared to one in six adults. That means that nearly half of the people living in multidimensional poverty—663 million—are children, with the youngest children bearing the greatest burden.

But new data also shows a positive trend: those furthest behind are moving up the fastest.

 “We looked at data for a group of ten middle- and low-income countries and we found encouraging news that the bottom 40 percent were moving faster than the rest,” says Sabina Alkire, OPHI Director-“A pro-poor pattern that reduces inequalities in several Sustainable Development Goals.”

Within these ten countries, data show that 270 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty from one survey to the next. This progress was largely driven by South Asia: in India there were 271 million fewer people in poverty in 2016 than in 2006, while in Bangladesh the number dropped by 19 million between 2004 and 2014.

In other countries there was less—or no—absolute reduction, with numbers of multi-dimensionally poor rising by 28 million across the three African countries considered. In part this was because of rapid population growth, which outstripped reductions in poverty. Infact, poverty rates (as a percentage of the population) declined in most of the countries.

The 2019 global MPI paints a detailed picture of poverty for 101 countries and 1,119 sub-national regions covering 76 percent of the global population, going beyond simple income-based measures to look at how people experience poverty every day.

spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Fidelity Bank to Host Eduthrive Conference to Empower School Owners Ahead of New Academic Session

Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, is set to...

Japan Designates City of Kisarazu as Hometown for Nigerians

Mrs. Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, Nigeria’s charge d’affaires and Yoshikuni...

Tinubu Lauds Petrobras’ Imminent Return as Nigeria, Brazil Ink MoUs to Boost Economic Ties

President Bola Tinubu on Monday welcomed Petrobras's imminent return...

Businessman, Ajose, Donates Materials to APC for Continuous Voters Registration Exercise

As part of efforts to support the rulling All...

LASAA Reaffirms Commitment to Fairness, Safety, Industry Growth

Prince Fatiu Akiolu MD, LASAA Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency...

Topics

A.M. Best: European Insurers Continue Emerging Markets’ Growth

In an attempt to deploy excess capital, some major European insurers have developed overseas operations over the past several years but are now taking a more cautious approach, as not all overseas strategies have proven successful, according to a new report published by A.M. Best. Well-capitalised insurers looked to overseas investments in order to improve margins during a time when traditional domestic markets remain mature and saturated, while low interest rates are hitting investment returns, said the report, titled “European Insurers Continue Overseas Expansion Drive but More Focused in Approach.”

Fidelity Bank to Hold 3rd Edition of FITCC in Atlanta, USA Sept 2025

Leading African financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, is set...

Swiss Re Misses $1.3bn Expected Profit in 2019

Reinsurer, Swiss Re reported weekend a smaller-than-expected profit in...

Nigeria, Japan Partner on Digital Economy

Mr. Bitrus Bako Nabasu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications...

Red Cross Test Runs new Land Rover Defender in Dubai Desert

The new Land Rover Defender has been put through...

ARCON DG, 37 Others Bag Advertising Fellowship Award

The Director-General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria...

Facebook CyberXchange Hackathon Berths in Nigeria

First ever CyberXchange Hackathon sponsored by Facebook to touch...

NITDA Saves N3bn for FG via IT Process

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has saved...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img