Poverty in Nigeria
by State
Official NBS data on poverty in Nigeria, showing the share of people living below the national poverty line across all 36 states and the FCT.
National Average
40.1%
of Nigerians in poverty
Worst State
87.73%
Sokoto
Best State
4.5%
Lagos
Rural Poverty
52.1%
vs 18% urban
Poverty Rate by State — 2019
Editors' Insight
What these poverty numbers really tell us about Nigeria
Two Nigerias — and the gap is massive
Lagos at 4.5% poverty and Sokoto at 87.7% are functionally different countries. The North-South divide in poverty data is stark and has been widening for decades. Infrastructure, security, education access, and economic diversification all diverge sharply along this line.
87% of Sokoto lives below the poverty line
Sokoto, Taraba, Jigawa, and Ebonyi — four states where more than 79% of residents earn below the national poverty line. That isn't just underdevelopment; it's a humanitarian situation. These states collectively hold tens of millions of people in structural poverty.
Rural Nigeria is where poverty lives
52.1% of rural Nigerians live in poverty vs 18% in urban areas. Urbanisation is Nigeria's most powerful poverty-reduction tool — but cities like Lagos are absorbing people faster than they can create jobs, creating new urban poverty clusters in the process.
This data is from 2019 — it's likely worse now
The NBS last published full state-level poverty data in 2019. Since then, Nigeria has experienced COVID-19, naira devaluation, fuel subsidy removal, and 34%+ inflation. The 40.1% national poverty figure is almost certainly an undercount of where Nigeria stands today.
About this data
Data sourced from the NBS Nigeria Living Standards Survey (NLSS) 2019, republished via the Nigeria SDG Data Portal. The national poverty line is set by NBS based on cost of basic needs. International poverty line (World Bank $2.15/day) figures differ. Figures.ng republishes official NBS data for every Nigerian.