The World Bank has said that the accelerating inflation in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, has pushed an additional four million Nigerians into poverty in the first five months of 2023.
In its latest Nigeria Development Update report for June 2023, the Bank said the loss of purchasing power from high inflation has increased poverty in the short-term, pushing an estimated four million Nigerians into poverty between January 2023 and May 2023.
Nigeria’s economic performance weakened in the first part of 2023 amid a challenging global context – which has continued to pose challenges for Nigeria’s economy – and domestic economic distortions, thus pushing more people into poverty.
The World Bank estimates, based on the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, show that 89.8 million Nigerians fell below the poverty line at the start of 2023, with an additional four million making it 93.8 million in May of 2023. This accounts for 43 percent of Nigeria’s 216 million people.
Recall that last year, the World Bank said Nigeria’s accelerated inflation growth had eroded the N30, 000 minimum wage by 35.5 percent and widened the poverty net with an estimated five million people in 2022.
