Demographics of Niger

The demographic features of Nigeriens, the people of Niger consist of population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who also constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the Zarma-Songhai (also spelled Djerma-Songhai), who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups are sedentary farmers who live in the arable, southern tier. The Kanouri (including Beri Beri, Manga) make up the majority of sedentary population in the far southeast of the nation. The remainder of the Nigerien people are nomadic or seminomadic livestock-raising peoples—Tuareg, Fulani, Toubou and Diffa Arabs. With rapidly growing populations and the consequent competition for meager natural resources, lifestyles of these two types of peoples have come increasingly into conflict in Niger in recent years.

Niger's high infant mortality rate is comparable to levels recorded in neighboring countries. However, the child mortality rate (deaths among children between the ages of 1 and 4) is exceptionally high (274 per 1,000) due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for most of the country's children. Niger's very high total fertility rate (6.89 children born per woman, which is the highest in the world ), nonetheless, means that nearly half (49%) of the Nigerien population is under age 15. School attendance is low (34%), including 38% of males and 27% of females. Additional education occurs through Koranic schools.

Population
Source: Institut National de la Statistique - Niger

UN estimates
According to the total population was  in, compared to only 2 462 000 in 1950. The proportion of children and teenagers below the age of 15 in 2010 was 49%, 48.8% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while only 2.2% was 65 years or older.

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2017):

Vital statistics
Registration of vital events in Niger is incomplete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.

Fertility and births
Total fertility rate (TFR; Wanted Fertility Rate) and crude birth rate (CBR):

Fertility data as of 2012 (DHS Program):

Other demographic statistics
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.


 * One birth every 27 seconds
 * One death every 3 minutes
 * One net migrant every 360 minutes
 * Net gain of one person every 33 seconds

The following demographic data are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.

Population

 * 24,484,587 (2022 est.)
 * 19,866,231 (July 2018 est.)

Religions

 * Islam: 99.3%,
 * Christianity: 0.3%,
 * Animism: 0.2%
 * None: 0.1% (2012 est.)

Age structure

 * 0-14 years: 50.58% (male 5,805,102/female 5,713,815)
 * 15-24 years: 19.99% (male 2,246,670/female 2,306,285)
 * 25-54 years: 23.57% (male 2,582,123/female 2,784,464)
 * 55-64 years: 3.17% (male 357,832/female 364,774)
 * 65 years and over: 2.68% (male 293,430/female 317,866) (2020 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 48.68% (male 4,878,031 /female 4,793,021)
 * 15-24 years: 19.36% (male 1,899,879 /female 1,945,806)
 * 25-54 years: 26.02% (male 2,581,597 /female 2,587,913)
 * 55-64 years: 3.3% (male 340,032 /female 315,142)
 * 65 years and over: 2.64% (male 268,072 /female 256,738) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

 * 47.08 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 1st
 * 43.6 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 2nd

Death rate

 * 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 37th
 * 11.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Total fertility rate

 * 6.73 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 1st
 * 6.2 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 1st
 * 6.35 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 1st

Median age

 * Total: 14.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 227th
 * Male: 14.5 years
 * Female: 15.1 years (2020 est.)
 * Total: 15.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 228th
 * Male: 15.4 years
 * Female: 15.7 years (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

 * 3.66% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 3rd
 * 3.16% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 7th

Mother's mean age at first birth

 * 20.4 years (2012 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

 * 11% (2017/18)

Net migration rate

 * -0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 129th
 * -0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 125th

Dependency ratios

 * Total dependency ratio: 111.6 (2015 est.)
 * Youth dependency ratio: 106.2 (2015 est.)
 * Elderly dependency ratio: 5.4 (2015 est.)
 * Potential support ratio: 18.6 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

 * Urban population: 16.9% of total population (2022)
 * Rate of urbanization: 4.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
 * Urban population: 16.4% of total population (2018)
 * Rate of urbanization: 4.27% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

 * At birth: 1.03 Male(s)/Female
 * Younger than 15 years: 1.02 Male(s)/Female
 * 15–64 years: 0.99 Male(s)/Female
 * 65 years and over: 0.8 Male(s)/Female
 * Total population: 1 Male(s)/Female (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

 * Total population: 60.09 years. Country comparison to the world: 218th
 * Male: 58.55 years
 * Female: 61.68 years (2022 est.)
 * Total population: 56.3 years (2018 est.)
 * Male: 55 years (2018 est.)
 * Female: 57.7 years (2018 est.)
 * Total population: 52.6 years
 * Male: 51.39 years
 * Female: 53.85 years (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases
The following infectious diseases are prevalent in Niger:
 * Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
 * Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
 * Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
 * Animal contact diseases: rabies
 * Respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

On 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Niger is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV). Vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received an oral polio vaccine. The CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series. Before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Education expenditures

 * 3.5% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 126th

Literacy

 * Total population: 35.1%
 * Male: 43.6%
 * Female: 26.7% (2018; literacy defined as the ability to read and write of those over 15 years old)
 * Total population: 19.1% (2015 est.)
 * Male: 27.3% (2015 est.)
 * Female: 11% (2015 est.)
 * Total population: 28.7% (2004 est.; source: UNDP 2006; NB: this figure is given without reference to which languages are considered)
 * Male: 42.9%
 * Female: 15.1%

Nationality
A person from Niger is known as a Nigerien (IPA: /niːˈʒɛəɹi.ən/ or /ˈnaɪ.dʒer.i.ən/). The word Nigerien is also the adjective used to describe a person or thing from Niger.

Ethnic groups

 * Hausa 53.1%
 * Zarma/Songhai 21.2%
 * Tuareg 11%
 * Fulani (Peul; Fulɓe) 6.5%
 * Kanuri 5.9%
 * Gurma 0.8%
 * Arab 0.4%
 * Tubu 0.4%
 * Other/Unavailable 0.9% (2006 est.)

Languages

 * French (official)
 * Hausa
 * Zarma (Djerma)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

 * Total: 6 years (2017 est.)
 * Male: 7 years (2017 est.)
 * Female: 6 years (2017 est.)

Youth unemployment (ages 15-24)

 * Total: 16.6%
 * Male: 16.1%
 * Female: 17.5% (2017 est.)