Poverty in Niger is widespread and enduring in one of the world's most impoverished countries. In 2015, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN)
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...
ranked
Niger
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, languages_type = National languages Additionally, in 2015 the
Global Finance Magazine
''Global Finance'' is an English-language monthly financial magazine. The magazine was founded in 1987 by Joseph D. Giarraputo, the founder and former publisher of ''Venture'', Carl G. Burgen, Stephan Spahn, H. Allen Fernald, and Paolo Panerai ...
ranked Niger 7th among the twenty-three poorest countries in the world. Two out of three residents live below the poverty line and more than 40 percent of the population earn less than $1 a day. Civil war, terror, illness, disease, poverty and hunger plague Niger. Hunger is one of the most significant problems the population faces daily. With a national population of 19,899,120, 45.7% of this population live below the poverty line.
Food insecurity
Representing nearly 35% of the population, an estimated 5.4 million citizens are food-insecure. Around 40% of children are underweight. Two and a half million people experience hunger and 800,000 children are malnourished. In January 2018,
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
flagged the terrorist insurgency of
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
as a significant cause of the malnourishment of 400,000 children, labeling Niger as the world's most under-funded humanitarian crisis. Millions more are required humanitarian assistance after fleeing their homes. The agency warned that 90,000 children could die of
Severe Acute Malnutrition
Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) is a measurement of the nutritional status of a population that is often used in protracted refugee situations.
Along with the Crude Mortality Rate, it is one of the basic indicators for assessing the severity of a h ...
in the coming year unless the international community took swift action. This amounts to more than 240 child deaths each day. The lack of food in Niger causes malnutrition and weakness, which often leads to infection and illness. One in four children dies before reaching age five. In 2015, ongoing floods, droughts, and temperature spikes attributed to climate change caused a severe food crisis compounded by water shortages.
Water crisis
Niger is facing a water crisis affecting nearly 10 million people. 64.01% of rural areas lack access to water.
List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty
Countries by percentage of population living in poverty, as recorded by World Bank and other sources.
Methodology
"Poverty" is defined as an economic condition by the lack of both money and basic necessities needed to live successfully, suc ...