Niger

Niger: sluggish, near-stagnant growth, 1980–2024

One of the world's least developed countries, Niger depends on subsistence agriculture and uranium exports, with growth further constrained by rapid population growth, Sahel insecurity, and the sanctions that followed the July 2023 coup. Between 1980 and 2024, Niger's GDP per capita grew from $409 to $735 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 1.3% — sluggish, near-stagnant growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 3.3% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 4.8 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 43.1% to 34.5% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 34.0% to 45.0% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 39.3 to 61.4 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 0.2% to 4.2%, while the urban population share grew from 13.7% to 18.0%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 0.08 to 0.12 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 36.0 to 32.9; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 88.0% to 60.5%.