The World Bank has said that extreme poverty is getting worse in Nigeria and 38 other countries facing conflict and instability. This is making hunger worse and pushing development goals even further away.
The warning came in a statement released on Friday titled “Extreme Poverty is Rising Fast in Economies Hit by Conflict, Instability.” It is based on the World Bank’s review of how fragile and conflict-affected countries are doing after COVID-19.
Nigeria is among the 39 countries the World Bank calls Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations. This list also includes countries like Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.
These countries either have ongoing conflicts or are facing serious instability,” the statement said.
In Nigeria, the insecurity caused by bandits and kidnappers in the Northwest, and a long-standing insurgency in the Northeast, are major reasons for its fragile state.
The World Bank says that the economies of these fragile countries have been getting worse since the pandemic, even though other developing countries are beginning to recover.
Since 2020, the average income per person in these countries has gone down by 1.8% each year, while in other developing countries, it has gone up by 2.9% per year.
In 2024, 421 million people are living on less than \$3 a day in these troubled countries—that’s more than in all other parts of the world combined. This number could rise to 435 million by 2030, making up nearly 60% of the world’s extreme poor.
The World Bank pointed out that even though the world is focused on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Africa is suffering the most.
For the past three years, the world has mainly paid attention to Ukraine and the Middle East, especially recently. But more than 70% of the people affected by conflict and instability live in Africa,” the bank said.
It added that if these issues are not addressed, they can last for a very long time. Half of the countries facing conflict today have been in this situation for over 15 years.
Misery at this level spreads easily,” said the World Bank’s Chief Economist, Indermit Gill.
The report also explains why ending extreme poverty worldwide has been so difficult.
Extreme poverty is now mostly found in places where it’s hardest to make progress,” the World Bank explained.
In these troubled countries, almost 40% of people live in extreme poverty. In contrast, only 6% do in other developing countries. The lack of economic growth in fragile countries also means there aren’t enough jobs for the growing population.
In 2022, over 270 million people in these countries were of working age, but only about half had jobs.
“Over the past 15 years, fragile countries have mostly faced economic stagnation instead of growth,” said the World Bank’s Deputy Chief Economist, M. Ayhan Kose.
He added that change is possible. “The world must focus more on helping these countries. It’s not easy to restart growth and development, but it can be done—it has been done before.”
With the right policies and more international support, governments can stop conflict, improve leadership, boost the economy, and create jobs,” he said.
