The World Bank has warned that more Nigerians could fall into poverty over the next three years. The Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse report predicts that poverty in Nigeria will rise by 3.6 percentage points between 2022 and 2027.
The report was released during the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC.
According to the World Bank, the increase in poverty is due to Nigeria’s heavy reliance on oil, weak government finances, and general national fragility. These issues, the report says, will continue to slow down efforts to reduce poverty.
“Poverty in resource-rich, fragile countries, including large economies like Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is projected to increase by 3.6 percentage points between 2022 and 2027,” the World Bank stated.
Although Nigeria saw some economic growth in the non-oil sector in late 2024, the World Bank says this will not be enough to stop poverty from rising.
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The report also revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the poorest region in the world. In 2024, about 80% of the world’s 695 million extremely poor people lived in the region, with half of them found in just four countries.
The World Bank explained that countries with strong agriculture and fewer natural resources are reducing poverty faster. These nations are benefiting from high prices of farm products, which help boost growth even during tough times.
“Resource wealth combined with fragility or conflict is associated with the highest poverty rates—averaging 46% in 2024,” the Bank said.
To fight this trend, the World Bank advised Nigeria to improve how it manages public funds and build a better relationship between citizens and government. It said this would help support long-term development and reduce poverty