Multidimensional poverty analysis of women, children and households in Nigeria: the first order dominance approach

PurposeThis study examines the dynamics of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria from 2003 to 2018, focusing on women and children, to understand the reality of poverty in Nigeria, where poverty reduction has been stagnant.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed the first-order dominance (FOD) methodology to conduct a multidimensional analysis of poverty among households, women and children in Nigeria, using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018. We examined how the relative position of multidimensional poverty in each zone has changed for approximately 20 years.FindingsThe results indicated that the north-south poverty gap in Nigeria persisted as of 2018 and, regarding within the north and south, changes in the relative pecking order of poverty between the zones have occurred considerably over the past two decades. Different trends were also observed for child and female poverty, suggesting the influence of the unique dimensions of poverty and cultural differences.Originality/valueThis study is the first poverty analysis to apply the FOD approach to children and women in Nigeria, the country with the highest poverty, over a relatively long period of 2003–2018.