Niger

Authors: Daniel Ndoye, Mansour Ndiaye

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After expanding by 11.1% in 2012, driven by the start of crude oil production and a good harvest, real GDP growth reached 3.6% in 2013. This decline was due to lower agricultural production, which suffered from poor rainfall during the 2013/14 harvest, and to a slowdown in mining, attributable to temporary stoppages that occurred in some uranium and gold mines. Inflation was contained below the 3% community requirement, thanks to government social policies and to an acceptable 2012/13 harvest. With production rising at the Zinder oil refinery and in the gold and aluminium sectors, prospects for 2014 and 2015 are good, with growth likely to rebound to 6.0% and 6.2% respectively, subject, however, to a number of risks. These include the persistence of pockets of insecurity along the southern and northern borders of Niger, the economy’s exposure to climate shocks and the recurrence of food crises.

Niger has launched several programmes under the 2012-15 Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES) aimed at driving sustained and inclusive growth. These include the implementation of the 3N (Nigeriens nourish Nigeriens) initiative which has contributed to increasing irrigated crop production. The country has adopted a national good governance charter for the management of mineral resources and in 2012 achieved the status of full compliance with the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative(EITI). But the development of the private sector needed for economic diversification and inclusive growth remains a challenge. Niger has not undertaken significant reforms to improve the business environment and the private sector’s share in the economy has eroded over the past two decades in favour of the informal sector.

Niger’s participation in global value chains (GVCs) is weak because of its underdeveloped productive capacities. The agro-food, extractive and manufacturing industries could, however, eventually have potential for development if policies to improve the business environment and promote greater links between economic sectors are introduced, particularly between the mining sector and the rest of the economy.

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