The Interview Editors
National Bureau of Statistics has disclosed that Sokoto, Taraba and Jigawa states have the highest poverty head count rate in Nigeria.
According to a report released on Monday by the NBS titled, “Poverty and Inequality in Nigeria 2019”, Sokoto State leads with 87.73 per cent poverty rate, followed by Taraba 87.72 percent poverty rate, while Jigawa has 87.02 poverty rate.
Lagos State has the lowest poverty rate in the country with 4.50 per cent, followed by Osun State 8.52 per cent poverty rate, while Ogun has 9.32 poverty rate.
The report further shows that 40.1 per cent of Nigeria’s population, which translates into over 82.9million Nigerians, are living in poverty according to “national standards.”
“In Nigeria 40.1 per cent of total population were classified as poor. In other words, on average 4 out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below 137,430 Naira per year. This translates to over 82.9 million Nigerians who are considered poor by national standards,” the report stated.
The report further shows that poverty head count in rural Nigeria is 52.10 per cent, while that of urban Nigeria is 18.04 per cent.
