By Chika Otuchikere
82.9 million Nigerians are now live below level, according to the latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This is finding from the 2019 Poverty & Inequality in Nigeria report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. This figure represents 40.09% of the total population.
According to the report published on Twitter by the Statistician General of the Federation and CEO of the National Bureau for Statistics, Dr Yemi Kale, 52.10% of rural dwellers are living in poverty while the poverty rate in urban centres is 18.04%. The report also states that the highest poverty rate is in Sokoto state while the lowest is in Lagos state.
The data, however, excludes Borno which has been ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents.
The last poverty data released by the NBS was in 2010 when 60.9% of the population was living in poverty. At the time, the country’s total population was 112.4 million translating to 68.4 million people living in poverty.
