Though Niger Republic is one of the biggest countries in Africa by landmass, over 80% of the country is situated within the Sahara Desert which puts a limit to land available for agriculture in a country whose main economic activity is subsistence farming. Apart from the limited arable land available within the country, the country itself is landlocked and has to depend on neighboring countries to facilitate most of its international trade.
Economic activities center mostly around subsistence farming and animal husbandry which employs 87% of the country’s labor force while it contributes 44.3% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Niger Republic is also one of the biggest producers of uranium in the world, however, it wasn’t contributing much to their economy as the whole value chain of uranium mining, processing, and trading was fully controlled by their former colonial masters (France) who still maintained a stranglehold on the economy of Niger Republic and other former French colonies.
With its low level of economic activities, Niger Republic has consistently been ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world with a very low ranking on the Human Development Index (HDI) rankings of 0.394 making it one of the least developed countries in the world. As of 2021, the country also had a GDP of a paltry $14.9 billion generated from a population of 25 million people which translated into a GDP per capita of less than $600.
However, in recent times, due to private sector-focused reforms of the Niger Republic government and the starting of crude oil production, the economic growth rate of the landlocked country has started to accelerate. By 2023, the GDP had risen to $16.6 billion while achieving a respectable GDP growth rate of 7%.
There were however fears of an economic meltdown as an aftermath of the military takeover of government in August last year as some Western countries, donor agencies, and development financial institutions that the country depended on for funding threatened to withdraw their support while regional alliances like ECOWAS imposed trade sanctions on the country and even threatened them with a military offensive in an attempt to force the military to return power to deposed President.
Despite all these challenges, the economy of Niger Republic has proven very resilient with the military leaders working hard to free the country of neocolonialism imposed on them by France while taking full control of their uranium trade and in the process ensuring more revenue accrues to the country and its citizens.
The military leaders of Niger Republic have also forged closer alliances with powers in the eastern block such as Russia, China, and Iran in their bid to free their country from French domination and get better value for their natural resources. At the same time, they have plans to form an economic confederation with Mali and Burkina Faso in response to the ECOWAS threat of isolating them.
It was however very commendable for Niger Republic despite all the political turmoil and economic sanctions that they were able to maintain a 7% GDP growth rate in 2023 but even more outstanding is the GDP growth rate projection for 2024 which was estimated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) at 11.8% putting the Niger Republic firmly on top of the list of the fastest growing economies in Africa contrary to the expectations of many.
Niger Republic also has the opportunity to further accelerate the growth of it’s economy as soon as it can access the international market for its crude oil production. Though it currently stands at 20,000 barrels per day and is mostly used for local consumption, the country can produce up to 110,000 barrels per day of which they plan to export 90,000 barrels per day when they complete the Niger Republic/Benin Republic crude oil pipeline to facilitate access to the international market. There have also been talks of supplying crude oil to the Kaduna refinery in Nigeria when the refinery becomes operational again because of the proximity of Kaduna to the country.
Even though there are merits and demerits of the military takeover of government in Niger Republic, military coups remain unacceptable as a means of acquiring political power anywhere in the world. In this vein, the military leaders will be urged to expedite action on returning the country to civil rule while putting in place a constitution that will ensure that their political leaders are more answerable to the people and not foreign powers.
The future certainly looks very bright for Niger Republic. Still, it will be up to the leadership of the country to ensure that revenues being generated as a result of their high growth rate are invested in the people in terms of education, health care, and poverty eradication programs which will improve their HDI and make their growth more sustainable.
Oshobi, a development economist and management consultant, writes from Nigeria.