A total of 42% people surveyed in Nigeria have reported losing their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, while 79% reported a loss in income, the World Bank has said.
In Ethiopia, 45% of urban households and 55% of rural households contacted through a phone survey reported income losses because of the outbreak, it added.
Nigeria has the biggest population in Africa (about 190 million) and Ethiopia the second-biggest (about 102 million).
"The shocks caused by the pandemic might send between 13 and 50 million people into extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa," the World Bank warned.