World Bank Reveals 83% of Uneducated Nigerians in Poverty

According to the World Bank's October 2026 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria, 82.9% of Nigerians aged 16 and above without formal education live below the poverty threshold of $4.20 per person per day. This contrasts sharply with 26.6% of individuals with tertiary or post-secondary education.

The analysis, based on a 2022 household survey, reveals a poverty gap of 56.3 percentage points between these two groups. The report indicates that poverty decreases as educational attainment increases, with 60.9% of primary education completers and 51.6% of secondary education holders also living below the poverty line.

Notably, over half of those with secondary education and more than a quarter of tertiary graduates remain poor. Additionally, 73% of children aged zero to 14 years live in poverty, compared to 58.1% of working-age Nigerians and 47.1% of those aged 65 and above.

The report also highlights that 19.4% of Nigerians live in households where no adult has completed primary education, and 41.5% lack access to electricity.