New data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that Nigerian workers suffered a massive loss of purchasing power worth about $1.97 billion (₦2.79 trillion) in 2024, even though salaries rose on paper.
According to the CBN’s GDP by Income figures, the real value of workers’ earnings fell from ₦28.27 trillion in 2023 to ₦25.48 trillion in 2024, representing a 9.85 percent decline after adjusting for inflation. This means workers became significantly poorer in real terms, despite higher nominal pay.
Ironically, official records show that nominal wages increased by 18.43 percent, rising to ₦75.59 trillion in 2024, boosted partly by the new ₦70,000 national minimum wage introduced mid-year. However, the sharp rise in prices erased those gains.
Economists say the collapse in real earnings was driven by runaway inflation averaging over 30 percent, the sharp devaluation of the naira, and rising costs of food, fuel, transport, and medicine following the removal of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange reforms.
In practical terms, Nigerians earned more naira but could buy far less. A worker who received a pay increase in 2024 was, in reality, poorer than the year before.
The erosion has deepened hardship across both the formal and informal economy, with millions struggling to afford basic needs such as rent, food, healthcare, and transport.
Analysts warn the situation is fuelling debt, evictions, and rising social instability.
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