AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
The 133 million figure comes from the NBS 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, which found 63% of Nigerians deprived in basic needs such as clean cooking fuel, sanitation, healthcare access, food security and housing, not just short of income. It differs from income poverty: under the 2018/19 national monetary poverty line, 40.1% of Nigerians were poor.
Where the number comes from
The National Bureau of Statistics published the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) survey with NASSCO, UNDP, UNICEF and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. It found 63% of Nigerians, about 133 million people, multidimensionally poor.
How a multidimensional index works
Instead of asking whether income is below a line, the MPI checks each household against a set of deprivations. Indicators reported from the survey include cooking fuel (reliance on dung, wood or charcoal), sanitation, time to reach healthcare, food insecurity, housing and, for children, intellectual stimulation. A person is counted poor when their household's deprivations add up past a threshold.
- Headcount
- Share of people counted poor: 63%.
- MPI value
- Headcount multiplied by intensity: 0.257, meaning poor people experience just over a quarter of all possible weighted deprivations.
Key results
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Multidimensionally poor | 63% (about 133 million) |
| Rural | 72% poor |
| Urban | 42% poor |
| Share of poor in the North | 65% (about 86 million) |
| Share of poor in the South | 35% (nearly 47 million) |
| Lowest state | Ondo, 27% |
| Highest state | Sokoto, 91% |
| Children aged 0–17 poor | 67.5% |
Check the arithmetic: 86 million + 47 million = 133 million. Children make up 51% of all poor people.
Why 63% and 40.1% are both right
Under the 2018/19 national monetary poverty line, 40.1% of Nigerians were poor. The two figures measure different things and come from different surveys and years:
- Monetary poverty: is household consumption below the cost of a minimum basket?
- Multidimensional poverty: does the household lack clean fuel, sanitation, health access, schooling and similar basics?
A family can earn above the income line yet cook with firewood and live far from a clinic, and so count as MPI-poor. The report found monetary poverty lower than multidimensional poverty in most states. For the international comparison, read the World Bank poverty line vs NBS figures.
A third number: the World Bank line
Readers also meet a World Bank estimate. In June 2025 the World Bank raised its international extreme poverty line from $2.15 to $3.00 a day, measured in 2021 purchasing power parity dollars. Dataphyte, applying the new line, reported that about 34% of Nigerians, more than 70 million people, were below it in 2018. That is a third measure, built for comparing countries, and it should not be set against the 63% MPI headcount as if they were rival counts of the same thing.
What the figure means for policy and for households
Because the MPI shows which deprivations drive poverty, it points to different fixes than an income line does. A state where most poor households lack clean cooking fuel and sanitation needs different spending from one where the gap is schooling or health access. The report's finding that over half of poor children lack intellectual stimulation is an example of a deprivation that cash alone may not solve. For a household, the index is a reminder that income is only part of wellbeing: distance to a clinic, the fuel used for cooking and the security of food supply are counted too. For income-side planning at household level, see how to budget when income is irregular.
Using the figure carefully
- Say "multidimensionally poor", not "living below a dollar a day"; the MPI is not an income measure.
- Give the year: the survey is the 2022 MPI.
- Use the state table when discussing a state; national averages hide a range from 27% to 91%.
- Do not add the MPI and income figures together or treat one as replacing the other.
For related data, see what Nigerians spend on and how to read an NBS release.
Questions people ask
Is it true that 133 million Nigerians are poor?
The NBS 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index found 63% of Nigerians, about 133 million people, multidimensionally poor, meaning deprived across several basic needs, not only income.
Which state has the highest poverty rate in Nigeria?
In the 2022 MPI, Sokoto had the highest multidimensional poverty rate at 91% and Ondo the lowest at 27%.
What is the difference between multidimensional and income poverty?
Income poverty checks whether consumption is below a money line (40.1% under the 2018/19 line); multidimensional poverty checks deprivations such as cooking fuel, sanitation, health access and schooling.
How many Nigerian children are poor?
The 2022 MPI found 67.5% of children aged 0–17 multidimensionally poor; children make up 51% of all poor people.
Sources
- NBS: over half of Nigeria's population are multidimensionally poor (Voice of Nigeria) · accessed Oct 2026
- World Bank: June 2025 update to global poverty lines (5 June 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- Dataphyte: why Nigeria's poverty reality defies the new $3 benchmark (Sept 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.