In 2022, approximately 12% of the world's population living in extreme poverty (defined as a threshold of 1.90 US dollars per day) lived in Nigeria. Furthermore, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was home to approximately 10% of the world's population living in extreme poverty. Other African countries with a large number of impoverished residents included Tanzania, Madagascar, and Mozambique.

Poverty rates remain high despite projected decreases

Poverty is a widespread problem throughout Africa. Approximately 460 million people on the continent lived below the extreme poverty line of 1.90 US dollars per day in 2022. With a continental population of around 1.4 billion, approximately one-third of Africa's population was living in extreme poverty that year. The highest rates of extreme poverty in Africa were in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. More than 75% of the populations of these countries were living on less than 1.90 US dollars per day in 2019. Although poverty levels on the continent are projected to fall in the coming years, Africa will remain the poorest region compared to the rest of the world.

The problem of poverty and malnutrition in Africa

Several factors are associated with rising poverty. Regions with critical issues regarding employment, education, healthcare, nutrition, war, and conflict generally have higher numbers of impoverished residents. Consequently, poverty is more prevalent in less developed and developing countries worldwide. For similar reasons, rural households also face higher levels of poverty. In Africa, the extreme poverty rate among the rural population in 2022 was approximately 50%, compared to 10% in urban areas. Alongside deprivation, malnutrition is also widespread in Africa. Limited access to food leads to poor health, which in turn increases the risk of poverty. At the same time, malnutrition is driven by poverty. Almost 40% of the world's food-insecure population lived in Africa in 2020.