Nigeria's coronavirus outbreak may push 5 million people into poverty as it triggers the worst recession in the African powerhouse since the 1980s, the World Bank said on Thursday.

But Nigeria also has the highest number of people living in extreme poverty in the world, and has not recovered from another recession in 2016.

The World Bank forecasts Nigeria's economy will shrink 3.2-7.4% this year, depending on the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The 5 million people facing poverty due to Covid-19 come on top of the 2 million the World Bank had previously projected would become impoverished, with the pandemic disproportionately affecting the poor, particularly women.

Nigeria is now in talks with the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to raise $6.5 billion in funding.