Log in 
A landlocked country of 25 million inhabitants, Niger is situated in the heart of the Sahel. Two-thirds of its surface area is desert: only a strip in the south of the country is green, and access to water is a problem for a large proportion of the population, most of whom are young.
Many economic, social, environmental and security challenges weigh heavily on the achievement of the sustainable development objectives set by the United Nations: low human capital development, environmental degradation and climate change, high demographic growth, low and erratic economic growth, food and nutritional insecurity, overall insecurity in the country and the impact of security problems in neighbouring countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Libya), particularly in the form of migratory flows.
Over the past 20 years, Niger's social indicators have improved significantly. The gross school enrolment rate has risen from around 29% in the early 1990s to 66.42% in 2020, and the ratio of girls to boys has also increased over the same period, from 25% to 40%.
Insecurity in the north, west and south-east of the country is a risk factor for the region's economic and social development, as well as for maintaining the trend in social indicators. The presence of violent extremist groups in border areas threatens the country's stability, fuels pre-existing inter- and intra-community tensions and exacerbates conflicts over natural resources, the marginalisation of young people and women in the labour market and the weakness of public services in border areas.
Niger has faced political instability since its independence in 1960. The country has seen seven republics and violent seizures of power by the national army. After a succession of regimes ending in coups d'état, the presidential election in 2011 re-established civilian rule with the election of Mahamadou Issoufou in the second round (March 2016 election).
In the December 2020 and February 2021 elections, Mohamed Bazoum, the ruling party's candidate, was elected president of Niger, democratically succeeding his predecessor. However, following a coup d'état on 26 July 2023 that overthrew President Bazoum, Luxembourg suspended its bilateral cooperation with Niger. All the activities of the fourth Indicative Cooperation Programme Niger-Luxembourg implemented by LuxDev for an amount of more than EUR 100 million in the fields of education, training, employment and employability, water and sanitation, public finance management and food security were suspended on 31 July 2023.