# Northern Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (2018–2019)
**Savanna Intelligence — Data Insight for Africa's Real Economy**
This repository contains the full analysis, methodology, code, and outputs for a subnational Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) built for Northern Nigeria using the Nigeria General Household Survey Panel Wave 4 (2018–2019).
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## What This Project Does
Standard income-based poverty measures miss a significant portion of real human deprivation. A household can sit above the monetary poverty line while simultaneously having no clean water, no electricity, children out of school, and no functional toilet.
This project replicates the global MPI structure developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the subnational level, producing state-by-state MPI scores for all 20 Northern Nigerian states and FCT Abuja.
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## Key Findings
| State | Households Poor (H%) | MPI Score |
|-------|---------------------|-----------|
| Kebbi | 81.8% | 0.419 |
| Benue | 77.3% | 0.373 |
| Kogi | 69.7% | 0.316 |
| Bauchi | 60.8% | 0.287 |
| Gombe | 28.1% | 0.117 |
- Not a single Northern state came in below 28% poverty
- The two biggest drivers of deprivation are sanitation (53%) and school attendance (52%)
- The gap between Kebbi (82%) and Gombe (28%) is 3.6 times within the same geopolitical region
- 13 of 20 Northern states have majority-poor households
Full state results are in outputs/state_mpi_results.csv
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## Methodology
This analysis follows the Alkire-Foster dual cutoff method as used in the global MPI.
### Dimensions and Indicators
| Dimension | Indicator | Weight | Deprivation Threshold |
|-----------|-----------|--------|----------------------|
| Education | Years of schooling | 1/6 | No adult with 6+ years of formal education |
| Education | School attendance | 1/6 | Any school-age child (5-17) not attending school |
| Health | Nutrition | 1/6 | Household often food insecure (proxy for GHS Wave 4) |
| Hea …