Niger

Economic growth is estimated to have increased to 4.6 percent in 2016 from 3.5 percent in 2015, helped by a strong 2016-17 crop year and despite continued weakness in the oil and mining sectors, adverse spillovers from the economic downturn in Nigeria and continued elevated security threats. Inflation remains subdued. Notwithstanding recent macroeconomic gains, Niger still ranks last on the UN’s Human Development Index with growth barely above the estimated rate of population growth (4.1 percent a year). President Issoufou secured a second term in the presidential and legislative elections held in February-March 2016, with the new administration reaffirming a focus on reinvigorating growth to create more employment opportunities, including by addressing infrastructure gaps, while strengthening food security.