Demographics of Niger

This article is about the people of Niger. It is not to be confused with Nigerians, the people of Nigeria.

Demographics of Niger
Population pyramid of Niger in 2020
Population	24,484,587 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	3.66% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	47.08 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	60.09 years
• male	58.55 years
• female	61.68 years
Fertility rate	6.82 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	66.81 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	50.58%
65 and over	2.68%
Nationality
Nationality	Nigerien
Language
Official	French

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, ^[1] 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. Some white French people live in the country due to Niger being a former colony of France.

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 ^[2] ), 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

Demographics of Niger, Data of Our World in Data, year 2022; Number of inhabitants in millions.

Year	Population (persons)	%+
1960	3,240,000	—
1970	4,210,000	29.9%
1980	5,578,000	32.5%
1990	7,754,610	39.0%
2000	10,492,569	35.3%
2010	15,203,822	44.9%

Source: Institut National de la Statistique - Niger ^[3]

Census results

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1	100,000	—
1500	1,000,000	+900.0%
1900	1,700,000	+70.0%
1977	5,102,990	+200.2%
1988	7,251,626	+42.1%
2001	11,060,291	+52.5%
2012	17,138,707	+55.0%

UN estimates

Estimated population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate by year according to United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects ^{[4] [5]} the total population was 25,252,722 in 2021, 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. ^[6]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	2 462 000	49.5	49.6	0.9
1955	2 834 000	48.1	51.1	0.8
1960	3 250 000	47.1	51.8	1.1
1965	3 766 000	46.9	51.7	1.3
1970	4 373 000	47.7	50.8	1.5
1975	5 071 000	48.1	50.3	1.6
1980	5 871 000	48.0	50.3	1.7
1985	6 744 000	48.2	49.9	1.9
1990	7 788 000	48.3	49.7	2.0
1995	9 179 000	48.3	49.6	2.1
2000	10 922 000	48.5	49.4	2.1
2005	12 994 000	48.9	49.0	2.1
2010	15 512 000	49.0	48.8	2.2

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2017): ^[7]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	10 296 315	10 354 759	20 651 074	100
0–4	2 079 319	2 032 648	4 111 966	19.91
5–9	1 845 949	1 754 522	3 600 471	17.43
10–14	1 503 877	1 449 930	2 953 806	14.30
15–19	1 073 645	1 060 174	2 133 819	10.33
20–24	820 282	878 703	1 698 985	8.23
25–29	619 222	676 218	1 295 439	6.27
30–34	510 322	538 449	1 048 771	5.08
35–39	420 240	455 969	876 209	4.24
40–44	339 682	369 270	708 952	3.43
45–49	274 985	286 234	561 219	2.72
50–54	230 659	244 922	475 582	2.30
55–59	181 127	185 004	366 130	1.77
60–64	134 934	140 036	274 970	1.33
65-69	96 579	100 335	196 914	0.95
70-74	70 314	76 325	146 638	0.71
75-79	48 176	51 958	100 134	0.48
80+	47 003	54 062	101 065	0.49
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	5 429 145	5 237 100	10 666 245	51.65
15–64	4 605 098	4 834 979	9 440 077	45.71
65+	262 072	282 680	544 752	2.64

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. ^[8]

	Mid-year population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate (TFR)	Infant mortality (per 1000 live births)	Life expectancy (in years)
1950	2 569	153	68	84	59.4	26.6	32.8	7.56	130.2	36.25
1951	2 660	158	72	86	59.3	27.0	32.3	7.56	130.3	36.21
1952	2 750	163	75	88	59.2	27.4	31.8	7.56	130.4	36.17
1953	2 839	168	78	89	59.0	27.6	31.4	7.55	130.5	36.13
1954	2 928	172	81	92	58.9	27.6	31.2	7.55	130.5	36.19
1955	3 019	177	84	94	58.7	27.7	31.1	7.55	130.5	36.22
1956	3 110	182	86	96	58.5	27.6	30.9	7.54	130.4	36.30
1957	3 203	187	88	99	58.4	27.6	30.8	7.54	130.4	36.33
1958	3 298	193	91	101	58.3	27.6	30.7	7.54	130.3	36.35
1959	3 396	198	94	104	58.2	27.6	30.6	7.53	130.2	36.35
1960	3 497	203	96	107	58.1	27.6	30.6	7.53	130.1	36.40
1961	3 603	209	99	110	57.9	27.4	30.5	7.51	130.0	36.56
1962	3 711	214	102	113	57.7	27.4	30.3	7.50	129.9	36.64
1963	3 823	220	104	115	57.5	27.3	30.2	7.49	129.9	36.74
1964	3 937	225	107	118	57.2	27.3	29.9	7.48	129.9	36.74
1965	4 054	230	110	120	56.8	27.2	29.5	7.47	129.9	36.75
1966	4 173	236	113	123	56.6	27.2	29.4	7.48	130.0	36.81
1967	4 294	242	117	125	56.3	27.1	29.2	7.49	130.0	36.83
1968	4 418	247	121	127	56.0	27.4	28.6	7.50	131.4	36.61
1969	4 543	254	126	128	55.8	27.6	28.2	7.51	132.7	36.35
1970	4 670	260	130	130	55.7	27.9	27.8	7.51	134.2	36.06
1971	4 797	267	138	129	55.7	28.7	27.0	7.52	136.8	35.29
1972	4 926	274	140	134	55.6	28.4	27.2	7.52	136.7	35.63
1973	5 059	281	144	138	55.6	28.4	27.2	7.53	137.6	35.70
1974	5 197	289	146	143	55.6	28.2	27.5	7.54	138.0	36.00
1975	5 339	297	148	149	55.7	27.7	28.0	7.54	137.6	36.59
1976	5 489	306	150	155	55.6	27.3	28.3	7.56	136.7	36.98
1977	5 645	315	151	163	55.7	26.8	28.9	7.60	135.4	37.64
1978	5 810	327	152	175	56.2	26.2	30.1	7.66	133.8	38.45
1979	5 987	340	154	186	56.7	25.7	31.0	7.72	132.5	39.20
1980	6 173	353	157	195	57.1	25.4	31.6	7.78	131.6	39.68
1981	6 366	365	161	204	57.3	25.2	32.0	7.82	131.4	40.17
1982	6 564	375	166	209	57.1	25.3	31.8	7.86	132.0	40.30
1983	6 767	385	172	214	56.9	25.4	31.5	7.90	133.2	40.36
1984	6 974	399	179	219	57.1	25.7	31.4	7.92	134.8	40.06
1985	7 188	409	186	224	56.9	25.8	31.1	7.93	136.1	40.03
1986	7 408	418	191	227	56.4	25.8	30.6	7.90	137.0	40.13
1987	7 637	429	195	235	56.2	25.5	30.7	7.87	137.3	40.43
1988	7 872	438	198	240	55.6	25.1	30.5	7.84	136.9	40.79
1989	8 116	448	200	248	55.2	24.7	30.6	7.82	135.8	41.22
1990	8 371	462	202	260	55.2	24.1	31.1	7.81	134.2	41.85
1991	8 635	473	204	269	54.8	23.7	31.1	7.80	132.1	42.22
1992	8 908	486	205	281	54.5	23.0	31.5	7.80	129.2	42.95
1993	9 193	499	204	295	54.3	22.2	32.0	7.79	125.8	43.82
1994	9 493	512	203	309	54.0	21.4	32.5	7.79	121.9	44.71
1995	9 814	531	201	329	54.1	20.5	33.5	7.78	117.5	45.77
1996	10 150	548	201	347	53.9	19.8	34.2	7.76	113.2	46.68
1997	10 494	564	200	363	53.7	19.1	34.6	7.76	109.2	47.51
1998	10 855	580	201	379	53.4	18.5	34.9	7.76	105.7	48.19
1999	11 231	595	202	393	53.0	18.0	35.0	7.75	102.4	48.74
2000	11 623	612	203	410	52.7	17.4	35.2	7.73	99.2	49.32
2001	12 031	629	204	425	52.2	16.9	35.3	7.70	95.9	49.84
2002	12 457	646	203	443	51.8	16.3	35.6	7.67	92.2	50.56
2003	12 901	664	201	464	51.5	15.5	35.9	7.65	88.2	51.43
2004	13 367	683	196	487	51.1	14.7	36.4	7.63	84.0	52.59
2005	13 855	702	193	509	50.6	13.9	36.7	7.62	80.0	53.59
2006	14 365	720	189	531	50.1	13.2	36.9	7.58	76.0	54.60
2007	14 898	741	186	555	49.7	12.5	37.2	7.56	72.2	55.55
2008	15 455	762	183	580	49.3	11.8	37.5	7.54	68.5	56.51
2009	16 038	784	180	605	48.9	11.2	37.7	7.51	65.0	57.40
2010	16 648	808	176	632	48.5	10.6	37.9	7.49	61.8	58.37
2011	17 283	830	175	654	48.0	10.1	37.8	7.45	58.8	58.99
2012	17 954	851	174	676	47.4	9.7	37.7	7.40	56.3	59.65
2013	18 653	879	174	705	47.1	9.3	37.8	7.34	54.1	60.24
2014	19 372	906	175	731	46.8	9.0	37.7	7.28	52.1	60.79
2015	20 128	937	177	760	46.6	8.8	37.8	7.21	50.4	61.08
2016	20 922	973	178	795	46.5	8.5	38.0	7.14	48.7	61.63
2017	21 738	1 008	179	829	46.4	8.2	38.1	7.08	47.3	62.16
2018	22 577	1 042	182	860	46.1	8.1	38.1	7.02	45.9	62.45
2019	23 443	1 076	184	892	45.9	7.8	38.0	6.96	44.5	62.90
2020	24 334	1 110	202	908	45.6	8.3	37.3	6.89	43.3	61.45
2021	25 253	1 144	206	939	45.3	8.1	37.2	6.82	42.2	61.58

Fertility and births

Total fertility rate (TFR; Wanted Fertility Rate) and crude birth rate (CBR): ^[9]

Year	CBR total	TFR total	CBR urban	TFR urban	CBR rural	TFR rural
1988		7.51
1992		7.37 (7,1)		6.71 (6,3)		7.52 (7,3)
1998	52.8	7.5 (7,2)	44.0	5.9 (5,6)	55.0	7.9 (7,7)
2006	46.1	7.1 (6,9)	40.7	6.0 (5,6)	47.1	7.4 (7,2)
2012	46.6	7.6 (6,8)	39.0	5.6 (4,7)	48.1	8.1 (7,3)

Fertility data as of 2012 (DHS Program): ^[10]

Region	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Agadez	5.7	9.2	7.1
Diffa	6.4	11.0	6.3
Dosso	7.5	11.7	7.7
Maradi	8.4	16.4	9.0
Tahoua	7.3	13.0	7.5
Tillabéri	7.9	15.6	7.8
Zinder	8.5	17.3	8.6
Niamey	5.3	9.6	5.9

Ethnic groups

Ethnic map of Niger:

  Hausa

  Zarma-Songhai

  Tuareg

  Fulani

  Kanuri

  Toubou

  Arab

  Gurma

Population of Niger according to ethnic group in 1988, 2001 and 2021

Ethnic group	census 1988 [11]		census 2001 [11]		2021 [12]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Hausa	3,770,927	53.0	6,069,731	55.4	12,534,662	53.1
Zarma-Songhai	1,511,341	21.2	2,300,874	21.0	5,004,423	21.2
Tuareg	739,202	10.4	1,016,883	9.3	2,596,634	11.0
Fulani	694,428	9.8	935,517	8.5	1,534,375	6.5
Kanuri	316,471	4.4	513,116	4.7	1,392,740	5.9
Gurma	19,714	0.3	39,797	0.4	188,846	0.8
Toubou	31,403	0.4	42,172	0.4	94,423	0.4
Arab	24,178	0.3	40,085	0.4	94,423	0.4
Other	12,265	0.2	5,951	0.1	212,451	0.9
Total	7,119,929		10,964,126		23,605,767

Core health indicators

World Health Organization 2007 statistics: Core Health Indicators for Niger [13]
Indicator	Value	(year)
Life expectancy at birth (years) males	61.05	(2015)
Life expectancy at birth (years) females	62.9	(2015)
Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth (years) males	36.0	(2002)
Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth (years) females	35.0	(2002)
Probability of dying (per 1 000 population) between 15 and 60 years (adult mortality rate) males	502	(2005)
Probability of dying (per 1 000 population) between 15 and 60 years (adult mortality rate) females	478	(2005)
Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product	4.2	(2004)
Per capita total expenditure on health at international dollar rate	25.9	(2004)
Population (in thousands) total	13957	(2005)

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022. ^[14]

• 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 ^[15] 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

Population pyramid of Niger in 2020

• 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 ^[16]
• 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

Life expectancy development in Niger

• 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/). ^[17] 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 (French: Peul; Fula : Fulɓe) 6.5%
• Kanuri 5.9%
• Gurma 0.8%
• Arab 0.4%
• Tubu 0.4%
• Other/Unavailable 0.9% (2006 est.) ^[18]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Niger

• French (official)
• Hausa
• Zarma (Djerma) ^[18]

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.)

See also

• Seasonal migration in Niger
• Women in Niger
• LGBT rights in Niger

References

1. In Fula : Fulɓe; in French : Peul.
2. "CIA - the World Factbook -- Country Comparison :: Total fertility rate". Archived from the original on 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
3. "Annuaire Statistique - Démographie". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
4. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
5. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
6. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
7. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
8. "Population & Demography Data Explorer". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
9. "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys".
10. http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR277/FR277.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
11. "UN Demographic Yearbooks".
12. "Africa: Niger - The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
13. World Health Organization 2007 statistics: Core Health Indicators for Niger ^{[ dead link ]}.
14. "Niger Population 2022", World Population Review
15.  This article incorporates public domain material from "Niger § People and Society". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. 2022.  (Archived 2022 edition)
16. Zanga Gado Moctar (28 September 2021), "Résultats préliminaires de l'Enquête Nationale sur la Fécondité et la Mortalité des Enfants de moins de cinq (5) ans, ENAFEME NIGER 2021", stat-niger.org
17. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/nigerien
18. "Africa :: NIGER". CIA The World Factbook. 14 December 2021.

• UNDP. 2006. Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006. New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• UNDP The Human Development Index reports: Niger.^{[ dead link ]}
• Health Organization Niger overview.^{[ dead link ]} Includes links to statistics, programs and news on health and demography in Niger.
• WHO "Country Logbook" for Niger ^{[ dead link ]}. Providing Surveys, Censuses, Monitoring of vital events, Health services & surveillance, Health situation & trend analysis, and Planning & strategic documents .
• ethnologue.com: Ethnic and linguistic breakdown for Niger.
• OECD/ AEO 2007 Niger country study.
• The AGRHYMET Regional Centre (ARC), Niamey Office Archived 2008-02-19 at the Wayback Machine . Institute of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) composed of nine member States, including Niger.
• The World Bank, Niger overview and resources.