Poverty and living standards in Plateau, Nigeria: official figures
84.0% of people in Plateau were multidimensionally poor in the 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (survey 2021/22), about 4.32 million people. That rate is 5th highest of the 36 states and the FCT; the national rate was 63%.
How severe is poverty in Plateau?
Plateau's 4.32 million poor people are 3.3% of the 133 million multidimensionally poor people in Nigeria. On average a poor person in Plateau is deprived in 43.5% of the weighted indicators (the intensity of poverty), giving an MPI value of 0.365.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow many children in Plateau live in poverty?
Children are hit harder: 86.6% of under-18s in Plateau are multidimensionally poor, against 81.6% of adults.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics · saved copyWhat do poor households in Plateau go without?
The most common deprivations among poor people in Plateau are no improved toilet, poor housing materials and no safe drinking water: 73.2%, 67.8% and 52.7% of all residents are both poor and affected.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics · saved copyDo poor families in Plateau have clean water and toilets?
52.7% of residents are poor and lack safe drinking water, 73.2% are poor and lack an improved toilet, and 49.5% are poor and cook with wood, charcoal or dung.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow does insecurity affect poor families in Plateau?
37.0% of people in Plateau are both poor and live in a household that suffered a security shock such as theft, kidnapping or attack in the previous year.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow many displaced people are there in Plateau?
55,045 internally displaced people in 9,326 households were counted in Plateau in 2023, 1.63% of the 3,381,228 recorded in the 14 states tracked by the NBS and IOM.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics · saved copyHow Plateau compares with other states
Multidimensionally poor (share of people) (2021/22)
Plateau ranks 5 of 37, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Multidimensionally poor (share of people) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Bayelsa | 88.5% |
| 3 | Gombe | 86.2% |
| 4 | Jigawa | 84.3% |
| 5 | Plateau | 84.0% |
| 6 | Yobe | 83.5% |
| 7 | Kebbi | 82.2% |
| 8 | Taraba | 79.4% |
More on Plateau: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government budget · Nigeria
Sources
- National Bureau of Statistics: Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (2022), Appendix D tables by state, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 26498590b192…)
- National Bureau of Statistics: Demographic Bulletin 2023 datasheet, Annex 3: projected population by state, 2023 (NPC); Annex 8: internally displaced persons by state (NBS/IOM), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 6764616bf151…)
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