In its May 2025 Nigeria Development Update (NDU), launched last week in Abuja, the World Bank reported that Nigeria’s annual GDP per capita stands at $6,207 in current international dollars, placing it 146th out of 191 countries globally.
This figure is a mere 4.4% of Singapore’s per capita income (the leading country) and only 30% of Botswana’s (the leading African country).
The report indicates that while Nigeria’s economy is gradually improving, it needs to accelerate its growth significantly and consistently to reduce poverty and meet its citizens’ aspirations.
The World Bank noted that if Nigeria’s 2024 annual economic output of N277.5 trillion were equally distributed among its estimated 232.7 million people, each Nigerian would receive approximately N1.2 million annually, or about N100,000 per month.
This would represent a standard of living nearly four times the current poverty line, providing a substantial improvement for the almost 60% of Nigerians currently living in poverty.
However, even with such an equal distribution, the current output is insufficient to ensure widespread prosperity when adjusted for price differences across countries.
Poverty remains a significant challenge for Nigeria, exacerbated by rising inflation, high interest rates, and insecurity, which have worsened the cost of living crisis.
In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that around 63% or 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.
Furthermore, the World Bank’s April 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria revealed a staggering 75.5% poverty rate among rural Nigerians, highlighting the deepening hardship in the country’s hinterlands.
While urban poverty is also widespread, the situation in rural areas is considerably worse due to economic stagnation, high inflation, and insecurity.
The report stated that 30.9% of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per person per day in 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the NDU, the World Bank emphasized the urgent need to expand support for the poorest and most economically vulnerable households.
It acknowledged the Nigerian government’s efforts to mitigate the increased cost of living through a social assistance program designed to support 15 million households with time-bound cash transfers.
However, the report pointed out that the program’s rollout has been slow, reaching only 5.6 million households so far.
The World Bank called for an acceleration of this process, stressing that alongside macroeconomic reforms and emergency cash support, stronger economic growth and a robust social protection framework are essential for promoting productive livelihoods and alleviating poverty.
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