3.5. Housing and living conditions

3.5. Housing and living conditions

The aforementioned survey by the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and NOIPolls Limited indicated that 75 % of those interviewed were renting and 24 % owned the house or apartment they were living in. In Lagos, 26 % of respondents own their homes and 72 % rent accommodation.1095 Nigeria’s NBS 2024 household survey reported that seven out of ten households reported owning the dwelling they live in, with higher ownership rates in rural areas (80.1 %) compared to urban settings (49.1 %).1096

According to Nigeria’s NBS household survey, the main roofing materials are zinc sheets (60.3 % of houses) and corrugated iron sheets (19.6 %), the main material for flooring is smooth cement (67.2 %), and the walls are mostly made of concrete (61.5 %), except in the North-East and North-West were around 56.6 % of houses’ walls are made of mud. The same source noted that one in four households in Nigeria do not have access to toilet facilities.1097 Most Nigerian households obtain drinking water from tube wells or boreholes (40.6 % in the dry season and 37.9 % in the rainy season), followed by dug wells (12.9 % in dry season and 13.6 % in rainy season), and surface water.1098

According to FEWS NET, 19 % of those interviewed managed to afford housing costs, including electricity, heating, water, and rent, a decrease from 26 % in 2023; whereas 45 % ‘hardly managed’, and 6 % could not manage to afford housing costs.1099 About 53 % of those interviewed in Lagos indicated that they ‘hardly managed’ to afford the costs, while 6 % indicated that they could not.1100 The survey by the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and NOIPolls Limited indicated that there was a ‘deterioration’ in the ability to provide for basic consumer goods, with 9 % of respondents indicating that they could do so in 2024, a decrease from 17 % in 2023.1101

Regarding access to the necessary hygiene products, the survey by the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and NOIPolls Limited indicated that 30 % indicated ‘always’ having access (a decrease from 40 % in 2023), 33 % ‘just about’, 27 % ‘hardly’, and 7 % ‘never’. In Lagos, about 24 % indicated that they ‘always’ had access, while 10 % indicated that they ‘did not’.1102

Regarding access to clean drinking water, the survey by the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and NOIPolls Limited indicated that 68 % of those interviewed ‘always have access’, 20 % ‘sometimes’, 7 % ‘seldom’, and 5 % ‘never’.1103 Germany’s BMZ indicated that around 30 % of the population has access to safe drinking water, and most people do not have access to basic sanitation.1104

Regarding access to internet and Wi-Fi, the survey by the Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum and NOIPolls Limited indicated that 49 % of those interviewed ‘always’ had access’, 29 % ‘sometimes’, 10 % ‘seldomly’, and 11 % ‘never’.1105 In Lagos, about 45 % ‘always’ had access, while 12 % indicated that they ‘did not’.1106