Nigeria now has second-highest number of poor people globally – Yemi Kale

Nigeria has emerged as the country with the second-largest population of poor people in the world, according to Yemi Kale, former Statistician-General of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Kale revealed that no fewer than 89 million Nigerians currently live in poverty, representing about 40 percent of the nation’s population. He spoke during his presentation […]

Nigeria has emerged as the country with the second-largest population of poor people in the world, according to Yemi Kale, former Statistician-General of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Kale revealed that no fewer than 89 million Nigerians currently live in poverty, representing about 40 percent of the nation’s population.

He spoke during his presentation at The Platform Nigeria Independence Day event in Lagos.

Kale, who is now Group Chief Economist at Afreximbank, noted that only India surpasses Nigeria in the number of citizens trapped below the poverty line.

He said the figure is larger than the entire population of most countries globally.

He attributed the worsening poverty levels to years of delayed reforms and policy missteps, which pushed millions into hardship while leaving households vulnerable to inflation and fiscal shocks.

Kale further explained that the corrective measures currently being implemented should have begun over a decade ago, when early warning signs of decline were already evident.

The failure to act, he said, eroded investor confidence, constrained growth, and weakened the economy’s capacity to generate jobs.

He said, “To grasp the magnitude of this number, we can consider that fewer than 20 of the world’s 195 recognised countries even have a population bigger than Nigeria’s number of poor.

“And these dynamics are compounding. Together, these trends threaten the very promise of independence that every Nigerian should have the opportunity to thrive at home.

“So, what went wrong? Well, there are many reasons, but a large part of it lies in policy missteps and costly delays in implementing needed reforms.

“Key adjustments, some finally underway, should have begun over a decade ago, when warning signs were already evident.

“Acting sooner would have significantly softened the impact on households and businesses, sparing the economy years of compounding fiscal and inflationary pressures.

“Instead, distortive monetary and exchange rate policies lingered, eroding investor confidence and choking off investment.”

Kale admitted that the reforms currently underway are painful but argued that they are necessary to reposition the country.

“There is really no credible alternative. The question is how to make the process as humane and well sequenced as possible,” he said.

He urged the government to combine reform measures with stronger social safety nets to cushion vulnerable Nigerians from avoidable suffering.

Kale emphasised that consistency, transparency, and integrity in execution will be key in transforming Nigeria’s economic potential into shared prosperity.