weighted score 6.2 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
Niger
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and audit intelligence for Niger-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
7
Documented child labour in artisanal gold mining, agriculture, and cattle herding. Military rule limits independent monitoring. ILAB lists gold, trona, and cattle.
Worker rights & FOA
7
Core ILO conventions ratified but enforcement collapsed under military junta. Civil society severely constrained. Independent unions powerless.
OHS & audit transparency
7
Labour inspection capacity negligible. Independent audit access extremely difficult under military government. No functioning regulatory oversight.
Food & product safety
6
Minimal food processing for export. Regulatory capacity extremely limited. Subsistence agriculture dominates.
Environmental & regulatory
5
Uranium mining is primary environmental concern. Desertification and water stress. Environmental enforcement minimal.
Governance & anti-corruption
8
TI CPI 2025: 31/100. Military junta since July 2023. No democratic institutions functioning. Nationalisation of foreign assets (Somair uranium mine). Rule of law severely weakened.
Tariff & preferential access
2
EU EBA beneficiary — duty-free, quota-free access for all goods except arms. LDC status provides most favourable EU tariff treatment available.
Non-tariff barriers
6
EU sanctions following coup create compliance complexity. Uranium export controls. Landlocked geography adds cost. Strained relations with transit countries.
Supply chain traceability
8
Traceability in artisanal mining effectively impossible. Uranium supply chain opaque following nationalisation. Agricultural supply chains informal and untraceable.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- Forced labour risk
- High risk. Military junta rule since July 2023 severely limits independent monitoring. Artisanal gold mining involves documented child labour. Agricultural sector (subsistence farming) has widespread child labour.
- Worker rights
- Freedom of association and collective bargaining severely constrained under military rule. Civil society organisations face restrictions. Independent trade unions have minimal effective power.
- ILO conventions
- Niger has ratified core ILO conventions including C087 and C098, but enforcement is effectively non-existent under the current military government.
- ILAB status
- US Department of Labor lists gold, trona (natron), and cattle as goods produced with child labour or forced labour in Niger.
EU Regulatory Exposure
EU Regulatory Exposure
- EBA status
- Niger is an EU Everything But Arms (EBA) beneficiary as an LDC, providing duty-free, quota-free access to the EU market for all goods except arms and ammunition.
- Uranium & critical minerals
- Uranium is Niger's key strategic export. The Somair mine was nationalised in June 2025. Approximately 1,000 tonnes of yellowcake remain frozen at Niamey airport. Orano (France) and GoviEx have initiated arbitration proceedings.
- EUDR exposure
- Limited direct EUDR exposure. Niger is not a major exporter of EUDR-regulated commodities to the EU.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from December 2027. High risk — artisanal mining and agricultural sectors have documented forced and child labour.
- Sanctions context
- EU imposed targeted sanctions following the July 2023 coup. ECOWAS sanctions were in place but Niger left ECOWAS in January 2025. EU development aid partially suspended.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics & Supply Chain
- Geography
- Landlocked Sahelian country. All maritime trade transits through neighbouring coastal states — primarily Benin (Port of Cotonou) and Togo (Port of Lome).
- Primary export corridor
- Niamey → Cotonou (Benin) or Lome (Togo) → Atlantic → EU ports
- Main EU destination ports
- Marseille, Le Havre, Antwerp
- Typical transit time
- 25-35 days to EU (including overland transit to coast)
- Infrastructure note
- Road infrastructure poor. Overland transit to coastal ports adds cost and delay. Political instability in the Sahel region creates additional corridor risk. Relations with Benin strained following the coup.