Nigeria’s Economic Growth Still Too Weak to Reduce Poverty, Report Says

Nigeria’s economic recovery is yet to translate into enough improvements in living standards to significantly reduce poverty, with the World Bank warning that stronger and more inclusive growth is needed to create jobs and raise household incomes.

The World Bank expects economic growth across Sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen in 2026, but said the pace of expansion remains insufficient to deliver substantial gains in income per person. Regional per capita income growth is projected at only 1.8%, limiting the impact of overall economic growth on poverty.

Nigeria faces a similar challenge. The country’s economy is expanding, but growth has not been strong enough to generate sufficient productive employment or materially improve household welfare. The World Bank estimates that 69.6% of Nigerians lived below the lower-middle-income poverty line of $4.20 a day in 2025, while 50.8%, or about 123 million people, were living in extreme poverty.

The World Bank’s April 2026 Nigeria Development Update noted that macroeconomic stability had improved, with inflation easing and external and fiscal conditions strengthening. However, household incomes had yet to recover fully and poverty remained high.

The report points to the need for faster job creation, higher productivity and broader access to economic opportunities if Nigeria’s growth is to produce meaningful improvements in living standards.