3.3.1. Children, women, IDPs

3.3.1. Children, women, IDPs

Nigeria’s NBS indicated that, in 2022, 83.5 % of children under five years of age, or 22.9 million, were multidimensionally poor, with the average national rate being about 50 %, and over 95 % in Bayelsa, Sokoto, Gombe, and Kebbi.1037 The same source indicated that, out of the 29 % of all school-aged children who were not attending school, 94 % were poor and with no major gender disparity identified (27.3 % for boys and 26.8 % for girls).1038 According to Oxfam, net wealth in Nigeria in 2024 had a positive correlation with age, with the youngest age group (18-24 years old) having an average net wealth of one million Naira [555 Euros], followed by the 25-34 age group with two million Naira [1 110 Euros], the 45-54 age group with six million Naira [3 328 Euros], and the 65 and over age group with ten million Naira [5 547 Euros].1039

The World Inequality Database indicated that, in 2023, female income was 26.8 % out of the total labour income in Nigeria.1040 The World Bank indicated that in 2021, 35 % of females and 55.5 % of males had a bank account, representing a large gap when compared to the average rates in Sub-Saharan Africa (49 % for females and 61 % for males).1041 A study on poverty in Nigeria1042 financed by BASE Research, a UK Foreign Office sponsored organisation that assist poor and vulnerable populations, indicated that gender-related constraints such as divorce, (dis-)inheritance rights, household responsibilities, and the ‘gendered segregation of women’ into low-wage jobs prevent the upward mobility of women. The same source further indicated that the death of a spouse can severely impoverish a household since women would have to cover all costs associated with the household in a context of gender discrimination and lower salaries for women. According to the study, women across Nigeria share similar challenges related to social norms, such as barriers to education, gender-based violence, and marriage customs, but these challenges are accentuated depending on the region.1043 For example, social norms that preclude women from inheriting property are still prevalent in the south, particularly the South East, where women do not have the same rights as their counterparts in the North; and early and forced marriages remain common, especially in the north, and the majority of those without schooling are women, regardless of location.1044 As a result, women face a double disadvantage as they are often more affected by crises because of social norms that disadvantage them disproportionately, and these norms amplify the impact of these crises and deprivations.1045