Nigerians' assessment of their personal living conditions and the country’s economic situation has worsened dramatically over the past two years, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows.

The proportion of citizens experiencing moderate or high levels of lived poverty has doubled since 2017, as the majority experienced shortages of basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care during the year preceding the survey.

Citizens’ ratings of the government’s performance on key economic issues – including keeping prices stable, managing the economy, and reducing poverty – are overwhelmingly negative.

Key findings show more than eight in 10 Nigerians (85%) say the country’s economic condition is bad, a 27- percentage-point increase compared to 2020. Six in 10 (62%) describe it as “very bad”. 

The proportion of citizens who describe their personal living conditions as “fairly bad” or “very bad” has increased by 24 percentage points since 2020, from 47% to 71%.

This continues a worsening trend since 2014 (33%) eight in 10 Nigerians (79%) experienced moderate or high levels of lived poverty during the previous year, double the proportion recorded in 2014 and 2017 (38%), after a significant improvement between 2012 (54%) and 2014.

Nigerians cite management of the economy (39%) and unemployment (35%) as the second and third most important problems that they want the government to address, outstripped only by crime and security (41%). 

About nine in 10 respondents say the government is doing “fairly badly” or “very badly” at keeping prices stable (93%), managing the economy (87%), narrowing income gaps (86%), and improving the living standards of the poor (85%)

Afrobarometer surveys Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.

Eight survey rounds in up to 39 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2022) are currently underway. Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.