Poverty dey often measured by how much money person earn, but income alone no fit capture full extent of deprivation. Millions of people dey live without reliable electricity, clean drinking water, adequate sanitation, quality education or access to healthcare. Multidimensional poverty dey capture these overlapping disadvantages across health, education and living standards, and e dey reveal hardships wey income-based measures fit miss.
The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index wey United Nations Development Programme and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative publish estimate say 616 million people in sub-Saharan Africa dey live in acute multidimensional poverty, and that na 51.4% of di region population. Di report cover 108 countries, and e use survey data from 2014 to 2025 to measure deprivation in health, education and living standards. E update estimates for 13 countries, including Nigeria, and e track poverty trends in 89 countries, with Nigeria among three wey dem assess across five time points.
Low-productivity employment, infrastructure gaps, conflict, climate shocks and limited access to essential services fit deepen deprivation, particularly for rural communities. Nigeria stand out because e get di largest affected population among di African countries in di ranking, with 113.3 million people living in multidimensional poverty in 2024. Its position highlight di scale of di challenge in Africa most populous country, where rising living costs and longstanding gaps in public services don add pressure on households wey already dey struggle to meet basic needs.
Di ranking by population show Nigeria top with 113.3 million, followed by Democratic Republic of the Congo with 73.8 million and Tanzania with 32.4 million. Madagascar rank fourth with 21.9 million, ahead of Niger with 21.6 million and Mozambique with 21 million. Angola get 18.7 million people affected, while Mali record 15.8 million, Burkina Faso 15.2 million and Kenya 14.3 million, completing di top 10.
Di ranking by population differ from one based on poverty rates. Although Nigeria get di largest affected population, Niger get di highest rate among these 10 countries, at 79.9%, followed by Madagascar at 68.4% and di DRC at 67.6%. Kenya record di lowest rate, at 25.4%.
Nigeria position reflect longstanding structural weaknesses as well as more recent economic pressures. Di World Bank don identify weak job creation, low productivity, infrastructure gaps and exposure to economic shocks as major obstacles to poverty reduction. Nigeria record di largest increase in multidimensional poverty, with 17.9 million more people falling into poverty between 2021 and 2024, reversing a decline wey dem record from 2018 to 2021. Afghanistan follow with an increase of 5.3 million people. Di removal of petrol subsidies in 2023 and foreign-exchange reforms increase pressure on household budgets as fuel, transport and food costs rise. Although dem intend di reforms to address wider economic imbalances, higher living costs don make am harder for many households to afford essential goods and services. Di World Bank stress di importance of social protection to cushion vulnerable households against di immediate effects of these reforms.
These pressures compound longstanding gaps in education, healthcare, electricity, sanitation and productive employment. Insecurity in parts of di country also disrupt farming, livelihoods and access to services. Di 2026 MPI talk say Nigeria progress in reducing multidimensional poverty during di 2010s reversed in di 2020s, with both di poverty rate and di number of people affected increasing. In Nigeria, standard-of-living deprivation account for 40.6% of multidimensional poverty, while education contribute 30.6%, underlining di importance of improving basic services alongside household incomes.
For Nairobi, Kenya, Oct 12, one in four Kenyans continue to experience multidimensional poverty, with millions more at risk of falling into deprivation, according to di 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index. Kenya multidimensional poverty rate stand at 25.4%, equivalent to approximately 13.75 million people based on household survey data collected in 2022. Di latest available country profile by UNDP and OPHI also identify a further 26.4% of Kenya population — approximately 14.33 million people in 2022 — as vulnerable to multidimensional poverty. These individuals experience significant deprivation but fall below di threshold used to classify people as multidimensionally poor. A further 7.5% of Kenyans dem classify as living in severe multidimensional poverty, meaning dem experience deprivation in at least half of di weighted indicators used to calculate di index.
Di figures present a mixed picture: Kenya perform substantially better than di Sub-Saharan African average, but millions remain deprived, while di proportion of Kenyans experiencing multidimensional poverty remain above di global benchmark. Di findings underline di need to sustain progress in healthcare, education, sanitation, housing and access to essential household services, while addressing vulnerabilities wey fit push more people into poverty. Di 2026 MPI report estimate say 1.2 billion people across 108 countries live in acute multidimensional poverty, representing 18.9% of di population covered by di index. Sub-Saharan Africa account for approximately 616 million people living in multidimensional poverty, with di report estimating say 51.4% of di region population experience such deprivation. Di regional figures underscore di scale of di challenge facing African countries, even as Kenya 25.4% estimate place am below di regional benchmark.
Unlike conventional poverty measures based primarily on income, di MPI assess overlapping disadvantages across three dimensions: health, education and living standards. Its indicators include nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and household assets. Di global report highlight di disproportionate burden of multidimensional poverty on children and rural populations. Of di 1.2 billion people identified as multidimensionally poor, approximately 617 million are children, accounting for 51.5% of di total. Meanwhile, 83% of people living in multidimensional poverty reside in rural areas.
UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo say di rise in global multidimensional poverty should prompt urgent action. De Croo say di rise in poverty should be a wake-up call for di world. He say behind these figures are 1.2 billion people facing hardships that reinforce one another: hunger, missed schooling and a lack of clean water or electricity. He say this is unacceptable, but it does not have to be this way, and we know progress is possible. De Croo say countries that tackle these challenges together, rather than in isolation, don demonstrate what determined action fit achieve.
Despite di global increase, di report highlight examples of countries wey don substantially reduce multidimensional poverty through sustained interventions. It say 33 countries halve dia MPI values in fewer than 15 years, including six in Sub-Saharan Africa. China record di fastest reduction among countries with available data, halving its MPI value in four years. Di proportion of China population living in multidimensional poverty fall from 9.5% to 4.2% between 2010 and 2014. Vietnam also halve its MPI value within seven years.
