Niger Facts
Niger, or to give it its full title of the Republic of Niger, has a population of some 15.8 million and shares its borders with seven other countries, some of which remain in dispute. It is located on the edge of the Sahara desert and the United Nations rates it as one of the least developed countries in the world. Niger is often seen as the gateway between north Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
The country had a long experience of European exploration with it
becoming a French colony in 1922 until achieving independence on April 3rd
1960. Since then, Niger has had a succession of unstable governments, either
single party or military, with the latest coup
occurring in 2010.
Such instability has done little to address the enormous challenges facing Niger and its peoples; challenges including famine, lack of rainfall and poor harvests. In fact, Niger is one of the world's poorest countries with poor education and health care systems and an on-going insurgency by Tuareg rebels in the north.
Like in so many of the poorer African nations, the average is is just 15 years old, with just under half the population being aged 0 -14 years old. Life expectancy is around 53yrs and over 10% of all children die at birth. Those who survive are at risk of sexual exploitation and human trafficking for enforced begging, enforced working in in gold mines, domestic servitude and also for working in agriculture and stone quarries. This video documentary about Niger explores the country in further detail.
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