Nigeria may have the world’s largest poor population, says EU envoy

Gautier Mignot, the European Union’s ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said Nigeria probably has the world’s largest number of people living below the poverty threshold. He cited 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty in 2022 and said estimates suggest conditions have worsened since then. The EU committed nearly €45 million in humanitarian aid to Nigeria in 2026, particularly for conflict-affected and crisis-prone areas. Speaking in Abuja, Mignot called for emergency assistance to be connected to lasting solutions and said poverty reduction requires peace, security and respect for human rights.