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Economy
Economy—overview: Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its major export since the 1970s. The 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January 1994 boosted exports of livestock, cowpeas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid for operating expenses and public investment and is strongly induced to adhere to structural adjustment programs designed by the IMF and the World Bank. Short-term prospects depend largely on upcoming negotiations on debt relief and extended aid.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$9.4 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 4.5% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$970 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 18%
services: 42% (1997)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption
by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.3% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.8% (1998)
Labor force: 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $370 million (including $160 million from foreign sources)
expenditures: $370 million, including capital expenditures of
$186 million (1998 est.)
Industries: cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium mining
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 170 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by
source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 365 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 195
million kWh (1996)
note: imports electricity from Nigeria
Agriculture—products: cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry
Exports: $269 million (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports—commodities: uranium ore 50%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions (1996 est.)
Exports—partners: Greece 21%, Canada 18%, France 12%, Nigeria 7% (1996 est.)
Imports: $295 million (c.i.f., 1997)
Imports—commodities: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
Imports—partners: France 17%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, US 5%, Belgium-Luxembourg 4%, Nigeria (1996 est.)
Debt—external: $1.2 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $222 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1—560.01 (January 1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year