While access to adequate food and freedom from hunger is a basic human right, millions
of Nigerians experience food insecurity and are malnourished. Using nationally representative
and panel data from the Nigeria General Household Survey (NGHS), this study analyzes the
socioeconomic and demographic correlates (including wealth index, a widely used measure of
household socioeconomic condition) of household livelihoods in Nigeria. The study expands the
existing measures of household livelihood to include persistent and transitory food insecurity and
water access. A series of multinomial logistic regression models showed very weak associations
between the predictors of household socioeconomic status in previous studies (e.g. education,
employment, and household wealth) and experiences of household food insecurity and limited
water access. The study seeks to advance our knowledge about household food insecurity in
Nigeria by providing new insights into processes underlying household food insecurity and their
implications for wellbeing.