weighted score 2.9 · ten dimensions
Sourcing Attractiveness Index · ten dimensions
Niger
Labour cost, supply base depth, logistics infrastructure, trade access, and innovation scores for Niger as a sourcing destination.
Labour cost competitiveness
9
Extremely low labour costs reflecting extreme poverty. Formal sector wages among the lowest globally. But very low productivity and negligible skilled workforce.
Supply base depth
2
No manufacturing base. Economy based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and extractives. Uranium mining is the only significant industrial activity.
Logistics & infrastructure
2
Landlocked. Poor road infrastructure. No railway. Dependent on Benin/Togo ports for maritime access. Electricity access ~19%. Relations with transit countries strained.
Workforce skills
2
Literacy rate ~35%. Skilled labour extremely scarce. No significant technical or manufacturing workforce. Expatriate technical staff displaced by nationalisation.
Scalability
5
Large population (~27M) but almost entirely in subsistence agriculture. No industrial scalability. Uranium production capacity significant but disrupted by nationalisation and export freeze.
Ease of doing business
2
Military junta rule. Asset nationalisation. No independent judiciary. Extremely poor infrastructure. Among the most difficult operating environments globally.
Trade access & tariffs
2
EU EBA duty-free access. But ECOWAS withdrawal removes regional trade access. Landlocked geography adds significant cost. EU sanctions create compliance complexity.
Sustainability baseline
2
Sahel desertification advancing. Chronic food insecurity. No environmental regulatory capacity. Artisanal mining environmental damage. Extremely low adaptive capacity.
Innovation & IP
1
No R&D infrastructure. No patent activity. OAPI membership provides theoretical IP framework but zero enforcement capacity.
Quality standards
2
No quality management infrastructure. Previous uranium operations met international standards under Orano — uncertain post-nationalisation. No manufacturing quality ecosystem.
Labour & Cost Competitiveness
Labour & Cost Competitiveness
- Wage levels
- Niger is one of the world's poorest countries. Labour costs are extremely low but reflect very low productivity. Formal sector employment is minimal — the vast majority of the workforce is in subsistence agriculture and informal trade.
- Workforce
- Population approximately 27 million with one of the highest birth rates globally. Literacy rate approximately 35%. Skilled labour extremely scarce. Formal manufacturing workforce negligible.
- Labour availability
- Large young population but extremely limited formal skills. No significant manufacturing labour pool. Uranium mining operations relied heavily on expatriate technical staff (now disrupted by nationalisation).
Supply Base & Infrastructure
Supply Base & Infrastructure
- Manufacturing base
- Effectively no manufacturing base beyond artisanal production and basic food processing. Economy dominated by subsistence agriculture, livestock, and extractives (uranium, gold).
- Infrastructure
- Landlocked country with poor road infrastructure. No railway network. All maritime trade must transit through Benin (Cotonou) or Togo (Lome). Relations with Benin strained following the 2023 coup.
- Energy
- Electricity access rate approximately 19%. Power supply unreliable. Heavy dependence on imported electricity from Nigeria. No industrial-scale renewable energy infrastructure.
- Uranium infrastructure
- The Somair uranium mine (nationalised June 2025) and associated processing facilities represent the most significant industrial infrastructure. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of yellowcake frozen at Niamey airport.
Trade Access & Business Environment
Trade Access & Business Environment
- EU EBA
- Niger benefits from EU Everything But Arms preferences as an LDC, providing duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market. This is the most favourable EU trade preference available.
- ECOWAS withdrawal
- Niger left ECOWAS in January 2025 alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, forming the Sahel Alliance. This removes access to the ECOWAS free trade area and complicates regional trade.
- Business environment
- Extremely difficult operating environment. Military junta rule. Nationalisation of foreign assets (Somair). No independent judiciary. Infrastructure minimal. One of the lowest-ranked countries globally on ease of doing business.
- Foreign investment
- Foreign investment protection frameworks are effectively non-functional under military rule. Orano and GoviEx arbitration proceedings demonstrate the risk of asset expropriation.
Innovation, IP & Quality
Innovation, IP & Quality
- Innovation capacity
- Negligible. No R&D infrastructure. No significant patent activity. Academic and research institutions extremely under-resourced.
- IP protection
- IP framework exists on paper as a member of OAPI (Organisation Africaine de la Propriete Intellectuelle) but enforcement capacity is effectively zero.
- Quality standards
- No significant quality management infrastructure. Uranium mining operations previously operated to international standards under Orano management — status uncertain following nationalisation.