Definition of Youth
According to Niger’s 2013 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, youth is defined as between the ages of 15 and 35, in line with the African Youth Charter.
Marriageable Age
- Opposite Sex
- Same Sex
- Without parental consent
- with parental consent
- Male
- 18
- 0
- --
- Female
- 15
- 0
- --
Minimum age only applies to civil marriages, as “traditional law” allows marriage below these ages. UNFPA (2012) states 28% of all girls are married before age 15. No specific legislation for same-sex marriage. Homosexual acts are legal. Source: Callimachi (2012), UNFPA (2012), UNSD, ILGA
Candidacy Age
- Lower House
- 21 Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Upper House
- --
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union
Unicameral.
Voting Age
Situation of Young People
Literacy Rates
- 36.43% Male (15-24) %
- 17.15% Female (15-24) %
- Year: 2015
- Source: UNESCO
Net Enrolment Rate
Secondary School- 14.69%Male %
- 9.71% Female %
- Year: 2011
- Source: UNESCO
Situation of Young People
Tobacco Use
Consumed any smokeless or smoking tobacco product at least once 30 days prior to the survey.- 11.80% Male (13-15) %
- 5.60% Female (13-15) %
- Year: 2010
- Source: WHO
Policy & Legislation
Niger’s National Youth Policy (PNJ), also called “National Youth Charter”, was created by Decree No. 2011-009/PCSRD/MJS. According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES) 2012-2015 (2013), the objective of the PNJ is to “promote the insertion of youth in social and cultural life and in economic activities, by developing education programmes to that end and by supporting initiatives for socio-economic integration”. Unfortunately no copy exists online.
To ensure that the PNJ can be effectively implemented, PDES identifies priority activities that include revising the legal framework of youth associations (as well as strengthening their material and logistical capacity), and creating a youth development fund to ensure permanent financing of the youth sector.
Public Institutions
(ministry, department or office) that is primarily responsible for youth?
Youth and Representation
Budget & Spending
- % of GDP
- % of gov. expenditure
Source: World Bank
Gaps indicate missing data from the original data source. (Accessed May 2014).
Additional Background
Youth includes individuals of both sexes between the ages of 15 and 35. In terms of demographics, 56.5 percent of the Nigerien population is under the age of 15 and the annual youth growth rate over the period 2001-2010 is estimated to average 3.81 percent per year. The number of young people aged 15-35 is estimated at 4,914,140 in 2011, with 3,766,415 in rural areas and 1,147,725 in urban areas. However, these numbers are changing and show an upward trend for urban youth compared to youth in rural areas.
Young people are classified as among the most vulnerable groups since they face problems in health, education, sports, leisure, employment, socio-economic integration, and progressive loss of national cultural values.
In terms of demographic weight, young people represent an asset and enormous potential that can be mobilized for the country’s economic and social development.From Marrying Too Young: End Child Marriage (2012):
In 2006, three out of four women aged 20 to 24 in Niger were married by age 18, the highest proportion in the world. Moreover, women in Niger give birth to an average of seven children. Recognizing the socio-cultural factors at work that increase girls’ vulnerability to child marriage, UNFPA is working at the community level with the Association of Traditional Chiefs to raise awareness of the perils of this practice, including the risk of maternal death and disability. Chiefs and religious leaders from the country’s eight regions are identifying culturally sensitive ways to discuss child marriage and the importance of girls’ education. In addition, televised Islamic religious programming is addressing the links between child marriage and maternal health. Working with traditional chiefs, the Schools of Husbands (“Ecoles de Maris”) are introducing child marriage prevention in their curricula to engage men in sexual and reproductive health and to foster positive norms change for women and girls. The Schools operates in the Zinder region, where 58 per cent of young women aged 20-24 were married by age 15 (compared to the national figure which is 36 per cent).