POPULATION GROWTH, POVERTY, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON STANDARD OF LIVING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examines empirically the impact of population growth and poverty on standard of living in Nigeria from 1981 to 2023. The dimensions that were used to proxy the independent variables are population growth rate and poverty rate while gross national income per capita was used to proxy standard of living which is the dependent variable. The independent variables – population growth (was disaggregated into rural and urban population growth rate) and poverty rate.  Data used were sourced from secondary sources which includes; World Bank development indicators for various years and the Central Bank of Nigeria annual statistical bulletin. The Statistical Software employed to analyse the data was the eviews9. The data collected were analyzed using the econometrics technique of Autoregressive Distributed Lags. The result indicated that population growth and poverty rate have effect on standard of living. The study therefore concludes that population growth rate and poverty reduce economic development in Nigeria within the period of study. The study therefore recommends that policies that would improve the share of working age population in the country in order to improve economic growth which in turn will improve standard of living should be encouraged especially in the rural areas. At micro level, households especially in the rural areas should also focus on children capacity building by ensuring children are well educated and trained across the endeavors of human life as this will alleviate poverty and brings about improvement in standard of living.