Nigeria GDP per capita falls 66 % and 65 m pushed into poverty
A recent economic report has reported that Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita fell by 66 percent by the year 2024 compared with its 2014 peak, and the decline is estimated to have pushed more than 65 million people into poverty.
The report produced by Quartus Economics and titled “Forty Years of Structural Adjustment. Is Africa’s Eagle Stuck or Soaring Back to Life?” asserts that the significant drop in per-capita income over the decade is a key driver behind the surge in poverty levels.
According to the report, major factors behind the sharp fall in per-capita GDP include a collapse in oil prices, policy inconsistencies, weak structural reform implementation and rapidly growing population which together eroded living standards.
It is important to note that this estimate differs from other poverty metrics reported elsewhere: for example, the World Bank estimated that about 129 million Nigerians were living in poverty in 2024.
