Inequality in Nigeria – Exploring the drivers
Despite the prevailing recession Nigeria is still seen as Africa’s largest economy and one of the fastest-growing in the world. Yet, more than half of the Nigerian population still grapples with extreme poverty, while a small group of elites enjoys ever-growing wealth. This report provides a picture of the current state of poverty and economic inequality in Nigeria, identifies the main drivers of this situation and presents some policy solutions. Over the past 40 years, the gap between the rich and the poor has been growing in developed and developing countries alike.1 In 2015, just 62 people had as much wealth as the poorest half of humanity, and the richest one percent owned more wealth than the rest of the world combined.2 At the same time, the poorest people are being denied their fair share: since the turn of the century, the poorest half of the world’s population has received just one percent of the total increase in global wealth.