Economy

Imports
$2.33 billion (2021). Rice ($275M), Cars ($113M), Rolled Tobacco ($69.3M), Palm Oil ($59.2M), and Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($57.8M), importing mostly from China ($441M), France ($193M), United States ($185M), Nigeria ($180M), and India ($175M).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 9.5% have an account with a financial institution
• 2.1% have a credit card
• 8.7% have a mobile money account

Ease of doing business
Ease of conducting business is medium-low (rated 56.8 out of 100). Ranked 18th out of 48 Sub-Saharan African countries. Ranked 132nd out of 190 countries worldwide (2022, World Bank)

Exports
$3.78 billion (2021). Gold ($2.7B), Other Oily Seeds ($344M), Radioactive Chemicals ($297M), Refined Petroleum ($235M), and Uranium and Thorium Ore ($36.5M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($2.68B), China ($344M), France ($197M), Burkina Faso ($123M), and Mali ($110M).

Economic freedom
‘Mostly not free’ (rated 53.7 out of 100). Ranked 23rd out of 47 Sub-Saharan African countries. Ranked 126th out of 186 countries worldwide (2022, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 22nd out of 27 Sub-Saharan African countries, and 125th out of 132 worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.

Media

Media language French

Information channels
Niger’s underdeveloped media sector reflects the country’s poverty and low levels of literacy, which constrain media development and limit public access to some platforms and outlets.
The threat from jihadists is a further challenge to the media sector and those who work in it. 
Radio is the most important medium, particularly popular among rural and often illiterate audiences. Over 200 stations are licensed. Local relays of foreign radio stations are popular.
Television viewing is restricted by limited access to mains electricity, though a number of privately owned channels compete with the state broadcaster.
There are a substantial number of print media titles but readership is largely limited to the educated, French-speaking urban population. BBC World Service broadcasts in Hausa, French and English in the capital (100.4 FM). There are also FM relays of Voice of America (VOA).

News agency

Agence Nigerien de Presse (ANP) – state news agency, all ANO’s output is in French

The press

L’Enqueteur – pro-opposition newspaper
Le Sahel – and its Sunday edition Sahel Dimanche are the leading state-run newspapers
Niger Express – news website
Journal du Niger – news website
Tamtam Info – pro-government news website
ActuNiger – a leading private news website
Niamey et les 2 Jours – pro-government news website
Niger Diaspora – website aimed at Niger people living abroad
Sahelien – regional website based in Bamako, launched in 2014 with backing from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) focuses on news in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali

Television

Tele-Sahel – state-run
Africable TV – pan-African Mali-based channel
Radio-Television Tenere (RTT TV) – also operates Radio Tenere, one of Niger’s most popular radio stations.

Radio

La Voix du Sahel – state-run, sole national station; broadcasts in French, Arabic, Hausa and vernacular languages
Radio Saraounia – private
Anfani FM – private
R&M (Radio et Musique) – private
Tenere FM – private

Internet Data

Internet users
22.4% penetration, 5.98 million

Share of web traffic by device
82.78% mobile phones, 17.02% computers (laptops and desktops) and 0.19% tablet devices.

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
4.47 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 54.7%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 46.5%

Most popular web search engines
Google (95.38%), Bing (3.91%), Yahoo! (0.32%), DuckduckGo (0.08%),  Baidu (0.07%), other (0.25%).

Most used social media
Facebook (89.19%), Twitter (7.75%), Pinterest (1.1%), YouTube (1.09%), Instagram (0.64%), LinkedIn (0.14%), VKontakte (0.05%), other (0.05%).

Social statistics

Life expectancy
62 yrs (2021)

Gender
Youth, in particular, may be boisterous; sexual assault is not prevalent but most men tend to act in an outwardly sexist manner in the presence of women.

Corruption perceptions Index
Niger scored 32 out of 100, ranked 123 out of 180 countries worldwide.

Current health expenditure
6.2% of GDP

Current education expenditure
99.2% of total expenditure in public institutions.

CO2 emissions
0.1 metric tons per capita.

Religion
With regard to religion, the majority of the population is Muslim and strictly follow its rules such as regularly attending prayers and observing Ramadan.

Ethnicity
Previously, ethnicity was a major problem; however, today all ethnic groups live together in perfect harmony.

Class
Different social classes do exist and even affect marriage; girls and men from aristocratic families may not marry outside their caste. Classes often contribute to social barriers.

World Happiness Index
Niger ranked 104 out of 137 countries, with a score of 5.003.