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World Bank report declares Nigeria country with the largest poor population
By Modupe Shodeinde
In a new report on Wednesday, the World bank has declared Nigeria as the country with the largest poor population in sub-Saharan Africa, with 79million extremely poor in 2018.
According to the biennal “Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report”, the country has accounted for 20 percent of the total poor in the region.
It said, “Almost half of poor people in sub-Saharan Africa live in just five economies: Nigeria (79 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (60 million), Tanzania (28 million), Ethiopia (26 million), and Madagascar (20 million).
The report states that Nigeria has higher poverty rate in the North and Northeast area, while poverty rates are lower in areas closer to the coast.
It described sub-Saharan Africa as the region with the largest concentration of the extremely poor.
It stated, “Of the 44 economies with available poverty estimates in the region, 38 have a rate of extreme poverty higher than 10 per cent. Half of the economies have poverty rates higher than 35 per cent.
“Of the 20 economies with the largest poverty rates (based on PovacalNet estimates), 18 are in sub-Saharan Africa, and two are in the Middle East and North Africa (Syria and the Republic of Yemen).”
The report said the COVID-19 pandemic would push up to 40 million into extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
It estimated that extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.90 a day will increase, with the pandemic pushing an additional 88 to 115 million people into extreme poverty this year. The total may rise to as many as 150 million by 2021, depending on the severity of the economic contraction.
The report also projected that the pandemic will likely spur one of the largest increases in extreme poverty in advanced economies.
