Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu has the highest number of extremely poor people globally, according to the World Bank’s Africa’s Pulse report of April 2025.
“Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest extreme poverty rate globally, and a large share of the poor is concentrated in a few countries,” the report stated.
According to a chart in the report, Nigeria accounts for 19% of extremely poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo follows with 14%, Ethiopia with 9%, and Sudan with 6%.
The report added, “About 80% of the world’s estimated 695 million extreme poor resided in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, compared to 8% in South Asia, 2% in East Asia and the Pacific, 5% in the Middle East and North Africa, and 3% in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
A breakdown by Peoples Gazette shows that Nigeria’s 19% of the 560 million extremely poor in Sub-Saharan Africa equals 106 million people. This figure also represents 15.25% of the world’s 695 million extremely poor.
The report identifies Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan as the four Sub-Saharan African countries accounting for half of the region’s 560 million extreme poor in 2024.
The World Bank also painted a bleak future for Nigeria, predicting that more Nigerians will fall into poverty by 2027 under President Tinubu’s administration.
This comes just a month before Mr Tinubu marks his second year in office. He assumed office on May 29, 2023, and announced key economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of exchange rates.
Just last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the Tinubu administration’s economic policies have yet to produce tangible results for ordinary Nigerians, with poverty and food insecurity still widespread.
While acknowledging that the reforms have positioned the Nigerian economy to better withstand external shocks, the IMF warned that the outlook remains uncertain due to global risks and lower oil prices.
The IMF advised the Tinubu administration to strengthen macroeconomic buffers and foster private sector-led growth to secure long-term stability.
Mr Tinubu’s economic reforms have triggered widespread economic hardship. In August 2024, tens of thousands of Nigerians held a 10-day protest across the country, decrying poor governance and hunger. Nevertheless, Mr Tinubu has continued to insist that the suffering is a necessary sacrifice for long-term national recovery.
