Located in West Africa, at the heart of the Sahel, Niger has a narrow-based economy that remains heavily dependent on agriculture. Despite ongoing efforts to improve the situation, poverty remains a major challenge. In 2021, the United Nations rated Niger the least-developed country in the world. Over the years, the country’s situation has only worsened as the humanitarian context grows more dire due to insecurity, hunger, the climate crisis, and COVID-19. All of these elements make the cycle of poverty even more difficult to break for millions of Nigeriens living on less than $1.90 per day.
Diffa Region: Geography and Administration
Diffa is one of the seven regions of Niger and is located in the southeast of the country. Diffa Region is situated in the extreme southeast of Niger between 10° 30’ and 15° 35’ longitude East and 13° 04’ and 18° 00’ latitude North. It covers 156,906 km², and it borders Agadez Region to the north, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, and Zinder Region to the west. Diffa is the regional capital. The Region also includes three Urban Communes, a number of Rural Communes, four Cantons, and over twenty Groupments (administrative councils of nomadic communities).
The landscape is primarily Sahelian in the south, merging into the Sahara desert in the north of the region.
Demographic Overview
In terms of the average age of its citizens, Niger is the world’s youngest country, with a median age of 15.4 years. Half of its population is under the age of 14. Population statistics for Niger in 2025 highlight several key demographic trends:
- Population: The population of Niger in 2025 is approximately 27,835,086.
- Median Age: The median age in Niger is 15.6 years (2025).
- Fertility Rate: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 5.8 live births per woman (2025).
- Life Expectancy: Life expectancy at birth is 61.7 years for both sexes combined.
- Infant Mortality Rate: 62.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
- Urban Population: Currently, 18.2% of the population of Niger is urban, which is 5,067,678 people in 2025.
- Population Density: The 2025 population density in Niger is 22 people per Km2.
Here's a breakdown of the largest cities in Niger:
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- Niamey - 1,323,691
- Maradi - 361,702
- Zinder - 318,874
- Tahoua - 159,468
- Agadez - 149,549
- Diffa - 54,082
These statistics underscore the challenges and opportunities facing Niger, particularly in areas such as healthcare, education, and economic development.
The population growth rate must fall. Funds must be allocated towards family planning and health. It’s important to consider the socioeconomic context in designing family planning programs in Niger. A big win would be to increase investments in women’s education and labor force participation. Keeping girls in school also reduces the chance of child marriage, which is both a cause and consequence of pregnancy in adolescence.
Economic Activities in Diffa
The economy of Diffa Region is primarily agricultural, based upon pastoralism and farming. The major crop, grown both for subsistence and sale, is millet, especially the drought-tolerant varieties. One-third of arable land is devoted to farming: almost 105,000 hectares farmed of the 299,500 hectares of arable land. Areas of the east and south also grow rice and maize. Irrigation in the valleys around Maïné-Soroa makes this possible, as does the edge of Lake Chad (3,000 km² in the far east) and the seasonal Komadougou Yobe river valley in the south. This river valley forms around 150 km of the border with Nigeria.
In 2025, growth in 2025 is projected at 6.5% (3.1% per capita), driven by oil exports, with inflation at 4.2%, and extreme poverty incidence declining by 2.8 points (projection from microsimulation). Recent GDP growth in 2025 is driven by a rise in oil output to 28 million barrels. With robust growth and moderating inflation, the extreme poverty rate is projected to decline from 52.9% in 2024 to 50.1% in 2025, lifting about 310,000 people out of poverty.
Challenges and Humanitarian Efforts
Despite relative peace for years, the landlocked country of Niger is fighting a virtual war against poverty and hunger. As a result, Niger has become a popular host country for more than 250,000 refugees (mostly coming from Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso). The country also hosts 313,000 internally-displaced nationals. Niger’s historically open borders are also vulnerable to attacks from armed non-military groups. This causes more displacement for both refugees and Nigeriens alike. In 2021, owing to attacks on civilians, a state of emergency was declared in the Diffa, Tahoua, and Tillaberi regions.
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Niger is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change. It has high exposure to heat and a low ability to adapt to changes in climate, like increasingly unpredictable rainfall. This will negatively affect crop yields in a country where less than 1% of the cultivated land is irrigated. It’s projected that an additional two million Nigeriens will be pushed into undernourishment by 2050 by the effects of climate change on crop yields and because agricultural workers (around 75% of the total employed population) will struggle to work in the heat.
The face of poverty in Niger is overwhelmingly female, with girls and women representing an estimated 75% of Nigeriens living below the poverty line. There are still laws in effect that prohibit women from inheriting land, and a woman’s property is managed by her husband, leaving an entire gender devoid of financial independence or autonomy. 39.6% of Nigerien women with jobs still live below the poverty line.
Concern has spent nearly two decades in Niger, and our work focuses on tackling the structural causes of extreme poverty. Our Livelihoods program provides emergency food aid (including the distribution of cash and fortified flour to families) combined with long-term assistance to support economic independence. Our nutrition programming in Niger began in 2005, and currently focuses on our CMAM Surge approach.
Niger continues to face insecurity in several regions, including the Liptako-Gourma (Tillaberi region) and the Lake Chad Basin (Diffa region), where terrorist attacks persist. Armed groups in the southern and western part of the Dosso region have committed serious violations against the civilians, including pipeline sabotage, kidnappings, extortion, and violent raids. These activities have exacerbated the security crisis and affected local communities.
Niger, a landlocked country in the dry Sahel region of Africa, struggles to feed its 25 million people. Things could deteriorate even further as Niger confronts a “perfect storm”.
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Here's a table summarizing key aspects of Niger's demographics and economy:
| Category | Data |
|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 27,835,086 |
| Median Age (2025) | 15.6 years |
| Fertility Rate (2025) | 5.8 live births per woman |
| Life Expectancy (2025) | 61.7 years |
| Urban Population (2025) | 18.2% |
| Extreme Poverty Rate (2025) | 50.1% (projected) |
Niger growing humanitarian crisis: Sanctions hit those in need of aid amid rising food prices
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