Over 50% of sub-Saharan Africans poor – World Bank

Mariam Abeeb

The World Bank has said that more than half of those in sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, face multidimensional poverty.
This was revealed in the 2024: Year in Review report by the World Bank titled, ‘2024 Key Development Challenges in Nine Charts: How the World Is Off-Track to Reduce Poverty.’
The World Bank’s Multidimensional Poverty Measure captures the percentage of households in a country that are deprived along three dimensions of well-being: monetary poverty (measured using the international poverty line at $2.15 per person per day), education, and basic infrastructure services.
“As of 2024, over one-third of people in countries eligible for support from the World Bank’s IDA and more than half of those in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing multidimensional poverty, highlighting how persistent development challenges remain,” the international bank said.
Compounding the woes is climate shocks, which the World Bank said 40 per cent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is exposed to, and almost all of its population is considered at high risk.
The bank added that earlier this month, the global community came together to reaffirm their commitment to the International Development Association, a member of the World Bank Group.
The 21st replenishment of IDA raised $23.7bn to boost development in 78 countries for 2025-2028.
Thanks to IDA’s unique leveraging model, this will generate $100bn in affordable financing to help countries spur job growth, deliver better quality health care, improve education, expand electricity access, enhance food security and nutrition, and much more,” the bank said.