The Institute of Development Studies has ranked Nigeria as the second poorest country in the world in terms of food affordability.
The United Kingdom-based think tank in its report was used in creating a ‘cost of food basics’ analysis that compares the monthly minimum recommended spend on food per adult and the monthly average wage in 107 countries across the world.
The report put together through a global cost-of-living database, Numbeo, stated that the top 10 countries where basic food is least affordable are Syria, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Indonesia, Algeria, Iran, and Uzbekistan.
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The minimum recommended amount of food is based on 12-14 basic items that together would account for 2,100 calories per adult per day, which is the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for energy needs.
The Cost of Food Basics found that more than one year since the outbreak of COVID-19, there is a vast disparity between countries in terms of the proportion of average wages needed to afford enough food.
Basic food is least affordable in Syria, where the minimum recommended monthly spend would account for 177 percent of average wage income per adult, followed by Nigeria where 101 percent of the average wage is spent on food.
