The Nigerian Rural Poor Nigeria s population in poverty 1980: 17.1 million 1985: 34.7 million 1992: 39.2 million 1996: 67.1 million 2004: 68.7 million 2010: 112.47 million Source: Nigeria s National Bureau of Statistics GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)-1,180.0 Population, total -158,423,182.0 Rural population -79,528,437.4 Number of rural poor (million, approximate) -50,739 Source: Federal Bureau of Statistics, 2011 As shown above, in Nigeria, about 80 million Nigerians live in the rural areas.