Africa > Niger > Economy

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Agriculture > products cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava, rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry
Aid as % of GDP	11.6%		[26th of 129]
Debt > External	$2,100,000,000.00		[98th of 136]
Distribution of family income > Gini index	50.5		[3rd of 43]
Economic freedom	1.6		[117th of 156]
Economy > Overview Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking near last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. It is a landlocked, Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, and a 2.9% population growth rate, have undercut the economy. Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund program for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. In December 2005, Niger received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately US $86 million in debts to the IMF, excluding the remaining assistance under HIPC. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have increased sharply in the last few years. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigeriens.
Exchange rates Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Exports	$428,000,000.00		[157th of 189]
GDP	$3,544,143,000.00		[125th of 203]
GDP > PPP	$10,128,000,000.00		[123rd of 163]
GDP > Real growth rate	3.2%		[139th of 198]
GDP growth > annual %	4.5 annual %		[91st of 187]
GINI index	50.54		[7th of 40]
Gross National Income	$1,981,180,000.00		[126th of 172]
Human Development Index	0.281		[178th of 178]
Income category	Low income
Income distribution > Poorest 10%	0.8%		[108th of 114]
Income distribution > Richest 10%	35.4%		[32nd of 114]
Population under $1 a day	61.4		[5th of 59]
Poverty > Share of all poor people	0.59 % of world's poor		[20th of 80]

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