113 Million Nigerians are deprived of Health, Education, Living Standards-UN

The United Nations has disclosed that approximately 113 million Nigerians, comprising 48.7 percent of the nation's population of over 200 million, are lacking adequate health, education, and living standards. This revelation was made in the 2026 edition of the UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative report, which was published on Monday.

The report indicates that the average Nigerian is missing out on 55 percent of health, education, and living standards. Furthermore, 28.7 percent of Nigerians are categorized as severely poor. The report highlights that the progress made between 2018 and 2021 has been undone. Specifically, the percentage of poor people increased from 42.3 percent in 2013 to 38.7 percent in 2024, leading to nearly 18 million more impoverished individuals.

This surge in poverty is primarily concentrated in the rural north, where 68.9 percent of rural Nigerians are poor, compared to 24.8 percent in urban areas. Additionally, severe poverty is five times higher in rural villages, with 45.1 percent of people in these areas considered severely poor, as opposed to 9.3 percent in towns.

The report emphasizes that clean cooking and electricity access are the most significant gaps contributing to poverty, with 47.4 percent of Nigerians being poor and lacking clean cooking fuel, while 37.6 percent are poor and without electricity. The UN notes that such gaps are issues that policy can effectively address. Additionally, the global poverty index has increased for the first time since its inception in 2010, raising the total number of people affected to 1.2 billion.

In the 2026 report, the research center identified a 51.5 million increase in the number of people living in "acute" poverty compared to the previous year. UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo emphasized that this rise in poverty should serve as a "wake-up call for the world."