Country Comments

Niger has significant headwinds it is facing. The population growth rate has been the highest in the world. The fertility rate has averaged over 7 children per woman since the 1950s. The country for the past decade has been exceeding its carrying capacity and with an increase of population of over 900,000 births over deaths annually the future health of its people and nature looks grim. Niger is an impovershed country and the average citizen in 2020 lived on less than $600 US dollars a year

The African Wildlife Foundation reported hunting and poaching are rampant threatening rare species with extinction. Poor land management and unsustainable farming are rapidly degrading critical habitats. Unfortunately, there is limited available land due to rapid population growth and spreading cities, which results in competition between farmers, pastoralists, and wildlife. (1) Asking Nigerians to reduce their consumption further which for most is already subsistent is not practical.

In 2019 President Issoufou told the Guardian he has been slowly changing his country’s culture toward women and their empowerment and reproductive autonomy. “Before Islam came, women used to be married at the age of 18 but, due to a misreading of Islam, young women were having babies at the age of 12 or 13. But what does the Quran say? If an educated person reads the Quran, it talks about responsible parenthood. Islam says you should only have children if you can take good care of them and properly educate them. Schools need to educate young girls because we do not want them having children at 12 or 13. Ideally, we want to keep them in school as long as possible, until age 18. This is something new to us.” (2)

(1) https://www.awf.org/country/niger

(2) https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/oct/17/nigers-president-blames-explosive-birth-rate-on-a-misreading-of-islam