The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has stated that over 82.9 million Nigerians are living in poverty.

In its Nigerian Living Standards Survey (NLSS) report published on Monday, May 4, 2020, the NBS said 40.1% of the Nigerian population is classified as poor.

The individuals living in households whose per capital annual consumption expenditures is below N137,430 are considered poor by national standards.

"In other words, on average 4 out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below N137,430 per year," the NBS said.

The poverty headcount rate is highest in Sokoto with 87.73%, followed by Taraba (87.72%), Jigawa (87.02%), Ebonyi (79.76%), and Adamawa (74.41%).

The poverty headcount rate is lowest in Lagos (4.5%), Delta (6%), Osun (8.5%), Ogun (9.3%), and Oyo (9.8%).

The NLSS, an official survey that is the basis for measuring poverty and living standards, was conducted between September 2018 and October 2019, according to the NBS.

READ ALSO:

'Don’t Resume On Monday' - Gov. Sanwo-Olu Orders Civil Servants

The survey, the first conducted in a decade, is representative at the state level with a sample size of 22,110 households.

The NBS focused on increasing household and individual demographics (age, gender, marital status, among others), access to education, health and basic services, employment, assets, and income.

"Poverty is measured using consumption expenditures rather than income in Nigeria - similar to the approach taken by many other countries globally," the NBS said.

The report excludes Borno because households in the state, according to the agency, are not in "safe-to-visit" areas.

According to the World Poverty Clock, based on World Data Lab's global poverty model, over 102.4 million Nigerians (50% of the population) live in extreme poverty, under the threshold of $1.90 a day.