Okonjo-Iweala Clarifies World Bank’s Poverty Rating of Nigeria

Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said World Bank’s ``extreme poor nation’’ rating of Nigeria was based on the large number of poor people living in the country, according to dailytimes.


In a meeting held in Washington on Wednesday, World Bank President, Dr Jim Kim, announced that Nigeria was among the extremely poor countries in the world. Other mentioned countries were: India, China, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Kim had said "the fact is that two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor are concentrated in just five countries: India, China, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"If you add another five countries, Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya, the total grows to 80 per cent of the extreme poor,” he added.