Exploring the geographical variations and influencing factors of poverty in Nigeria

The high rate of poverty in Nigeria is alarming with over 105 million people living in poverty. Despite the significant proportion of the population living in poverty in the country and the obvious spatial variations, there is scant evidence regarding the spatial factors driving the variations, leading to ineffectual policies for tackling the problem. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the geographical distribution of poverty and the predictors across Nigeria with a view to providing spatially explicit policies to curb the high poverty rates. The data were obtained from the United Nations Development Program Report and the National Bureau of Statistics. Spatial statistics of global and local Moran's indexes, ordinary least squares regression, and the geographically weighted regression techniques were adopted for the data analysis. Noticeable geographical variations in poverty rates in the country were observed, with high clusters in northern Nigeria. Moreover, the predictors of poverty differed significantly across the country, following socioeconomic pathways and location. While the illiteracy rate and location (distance to the coast) were predictors of poverty in northern Nigeria, unemployment was more of a predictor in southern Nigeria. The study recommends spatially explicit policies to curb poverty in the country.