Niger

Ranked as 186 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) published by the UNDP in 2011, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, and 43.1 percent of its population is living below 1.25 dollars per day. The economy of this country is based on the traditional agriculture and livestock industry, as well as the uranium industry which began to develop rapidly from the late 1970s.

In recent years, however, the economy suffers from an ongoing slowdown due to a decline of the volume of agricultural production that leads to the steep rise in food prices, and also serious food crisis arose in 2005 and 2010 due to severe drought. JICA's support to Niger is primarily focused on: 1) education, 2) agriculture and rural development, and 3) health.