Despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria still faces big development challenges: political unrest, conflict and climate disasters like floods and heat waves.
The country’s population is growing rapidly. This is having an impact on the environment, with alarming levels of deforestation and pollution. Coupled with poor government policies, jobs are increasingly scarce and poverty remains widespread: Nigeria’s poverty rate reached 38.9 per cent in 2023, with an estimated 87 million Nigerians living below the poverty line (the world’s second-largest poor population).
Unequal access to education, healthcare and electricity limits opportunities for many citizens. Regional instability across West Africa, breakdown of law and order, and the growth of violent extremism and terrorism have made the situation so much worse – especially for women and girls.
A better world needs all of us. That’s why CAFOD has been working alongside local experts in Nigeria since the 1960s to fight inequality, build peace and provide practical help during emergencies.
