Half of the total population of Nigerian residents would be poor by the end of 2022, a report made by a group, Dataphyte, has revealed.
On Monday, In its report titled, “What is wrong with the Nigerian Economy in Five Charts”, Dataphyte said Nigeria’s $432 billion economy has been experiencing tough times, from inflation, to growing public debt, rising unemployment and poverty.
Poverty has continued to rise in the country. A Dataphyte report noted that the number of persons hit by poverty in the country is projected to rise up to 95.1 million by this year. Almost half of Nigeria’s population of 200,000 million will be poor by the end of 2022,” the report stated.
The report further asserted that, “Nigeria has continued to suffer from fuel scarcity which has further worsened the inflation in the country. There have been reported disagreements between marketers and the government. The marketers have said they want an increase in the price of petroleum noting that the official price of N165/litre is no longer sustainable.
“If the government maintains its subsidy policy, keeping prices down and acceding to the marketers’ demand, its subsidy bill will become even more astronomical. Already the World Bank has projected that Nigeria’s subsidy bill will rise to 2% of its GDP. A Dataphyte report noted that the 2022 subsidy bill is 74% of the capital expenditure for the year.”
Dataphyte also claimed that unemployment is on the increase in the country according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Data shows that the unemployment rate in the country has moved to 33%(2020) from 16%(2016).
A person is said to be poor if he earns a minimum personal income – for example, $1.90 per day. This minimum amount is deemed adequate to maintain an acceptable living standard, given the cost of living in a given country.
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
