July 31, 2023
Niger: In Focus
On July 26, 2023, military officers detained elected
Figure 1. Niger at a Glance
President Mohamed Bazoum and asserted that they had
seized power. On July 30, West African leaders announced
sanctions and threatened military action if Bazoum is not
reinstated, while pro-junta protesters attacked the French
embassy in Niamey. U.S. officials had previously
characterized Niger as an emerging democracy and
important U.S. partner amid growing insurgencies, political
instability, and Russian engagement in the Sahel region.
Over 1,000 U.S. soldiers were stationed in Niger as of mid-
2023, the second-largest U.S. military presence in Africa.
Niger has been a top recipient of U.S. security assistance in
Africa and a growing U.S. development aid recipient.
Context. President Bazoum’s inauguration in 2021
represented Niger’s first ever transition between two
elected presidents. Niger last experienced a coup in 2010,
and claimed to foil coup attempts in 2021 and 2022. If the
current attempt stands, Niger will be the sixth country in
Africa where the military has seized power since 2020.
Landlocked and arid, Niger is among the world’s poorest
countries. Despite relative stability over the past decade, its
history has been marked by coups and ethnic rebellions.
Source: CRS graphic. Data from CIA World Factbook and IMF (2023).
Security threats, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-
Embattled Democracy
Ukraine war worsened socioeconomic hardships,
President Bazoum, a career politician and former cabinet
historically a trigger for unrest. Insurgents affiliated with Al
Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) are active in border
minister, won election in 2021, succeeding longtime ally
Mahamadou Issoufou, who had served two terms. Although
regions. Conflicts involving these groups have killed
observers generally deemed the 2020-2021 general
hundreds of Nigerien soldiers and civilians and displaced
hundreds of thousands of Nigeriens. The Sahel-based IS
elections credible, opposition groups criticized the decision
to bar a prominent opposition politician from running (due
affiliate killed four U.S. soldiers in western Niger in 2017,
to criminal charges that supporters viewed as politically
and terrorist groups have kidnapped U.S. citizens in Niger.
motivated), and leading opposition candidate Mahamane
Regional Security Partner. The Western troop presence in
Ousmane, a former president, rejected the results as
Niger ballooned over the past decade as the country became
fraudulent. Large protests and rioting erupted in Niamey in
a key regional security partner for the United States,
February 2021 following Bazoum’s victory in a run-off
France, and the European Union. France’s withdrawal of
against Ousmane. Authorities arrested hundreds of
over 2,000 troops from Mali and Burkina Faso in 2022-
protesters and reportedly disrupted internet service. Just
2023, about half of whom were sent to Niger, magnified the
before Bazoum’s inauguration, the government announced
country’s importance for Western-backed security efforts.
that it had put down a coup attempt. In 2022, Nigerien
Niger has also been a focus of European counter-migration
officials reported that they had foiled another plot.
initiatives. The growing foreign troop presence and the
government’s close ties to former colonial power France
Freedom House rated Niger as “Partly Free” as of early
2023, noting multiparty political competition alongside
have prompted some local backlash, including protests and
“persecution of opposition leaders and the co-option of key
rioting (e.g., in 2022, 2021, and 2015). Juntas in Mali and
opposition figures.” Freedom House added that security
Burkina Faso have leveraged similar discontent.
concerns provided an “alibi” for civil liberties restrictions.
Legal and policy concerns have complicated U.S. relations
Under Bazoum, civil society groups and media outlets were
with other Sahel countries, further elevating Niger: The
active and regularly criticized the government. The State
country’s elected leadership and relatively disciplined
Department’s 2022 human rights report indicated that there
military have stood in contrast to neighboring Mali,
were no cases of political prisoners—“unlike in prior
Burkina Faso, and Chad, where soldiers have seized power,
years”—but that “civil society activists and members of
repressed the opposition, and abused civilians during
opposition political parties appeared to be especially subject
counterterrorism operations. President Bazoum was also
to abuse of their due process rights.” Per the report, “the
one of the few regional leaders to openly criticize Russia’s
government continued to threaten and harass journalists.”
Wagner Group, which has been active in Mali.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Niger: In Focus
Terrorist and Insurgent Threats
uranium exporter is of strategic importance, particularly to
Two Mali-based Islamist insurgent groups operate along
France, which relies on uranium for domestic electricity
Niger’s western borders with Mali and Burkina Faso: an Al
and nuclear defense. The prominent role in Niger of a
Qaeda affiliate known as the Group for the Support of Islam
French state-controlled firm, Orano (ex-Areva), has long
and Muslims (aka JNIM) and a rival Islamic State (IS)
drawn criticism from local civil society groups, which also
Sahel affiliate. In the southeast, Niger is threatened by
cite health and environmental concerns linked to mining.
Nigerian-led Boko Haram and its IS-affiliated offshoot, IS-
Oil production began in the early 2010s, and is mostly used
West Africa. These groups appear to pose a threat primarily
for domestic consumption; a new pipeline to Benin, built by
at the local and regional level. Southern Niger also faces
a China-based firm to facilitate exports, has been expected
spillover of violence from northwest Nigeria.
to come online in late 2023. Niger also has coal and other
Nigerien authorities have pursued military operations
mineral reserves. Amid successive Nigérien governments’
against Islamist insurgents, conducted large recruitment
efforts to diversify the sector, China-based firms have
drives, and acquired new defense materiel from Western
played a growing role in uranium mining, and are also key
donors and other partners (notably Turkey). Bazoum’s
players in the oil and construction sectors. Turkey is also a
government also opened talks with insurgents and offered
prominent economic partner, particularly in construction.
to help insurgent defectors reintegrate into civilian life.
U.S. Relations, Military Presence, and Aid
Nigérien officials have asserted that necessary spending on
U.S. officials have condemned the military’s “effort to seize
defense and security has limited the domestic resources
power by force” and expressed support for President
available for socioeconomic programs.
Bazoum. The Biden Administration previously sought to
Niger has participated in multiple regional security
expand and deepen bilateral ties, citing Niger’s democratic
initiatives, including the Nigeria-led Multinational Joint
credentials and regional security role. In early 2023, Antony
Task Force, the G5 Sahel “joint force” (comprising Burkina
Blinken became the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit
Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger), and the Accra
Niger, highlighting security and development cooperation.
Initiative, which aims to prevent Islamist insurgent spillover
Many of the U.S. soldiers in Niger are located at facilities
into coastal West Africa. These efforts have arguably been
in Niamey and the northern city of Agadez, which host U.S.
plagued by distrust among leaders, a lack of military
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.
capacity and interoperability, and an emphasis on military
Congress explicitly authorized the U.S. Air Force to build
offensives at the expense of civilian governance initiatives.
the Agadez facility; ISR flights began there in 2019.
Mali’s decision to withdraw from the G5 Sahel in 2022
Congress has prohibited certain foreign assistance to the
dealt a blow to that initiative. Niger also has had about 900
government—but not necessarily ISR or other military
soldiers and police serving in the U.N. peacekeeping
activities—in countries in which the military has ousted an
mission in Mali. In June 2023, Mali’s junta demanded the
elected leader. The Administration has yet to determine
mission’s withdrawal, which is expected by late 2023.
whether the prohibition applies to Niger. (See CRS In
Focus IF11267, Coup-Related Restrictions in U.S. Foreign
Security force abuses and failures in the Sahel have
Aid Appropriations.) An active U.S. Millennium Challenge
arguably fueled local support for insurgents and coups, as
Corporation compact with Niger and newly signed second
has a growing popular rejection of France’s role in the
compact are also at risk due to statutory eligibility criteria.
region. Bazoum, like his predecessor Issoufou, welcomed
Western military cooperation. Unlike some of its neighbors,
U.S. Aid. The United States allocated $92 million in
Niger has generally not armed ethnic militias or civilian
bilateral aid for Niger in FY2022 (latest available), with
vigilantes as a counterinsurgency tactic, and allegations of
health and agriculture top areas of focus. The
security force abuses have been rarer than in other countries
Administration has requested $107 million for Niger in
in the region. In 2020, however, human rights groups
FY2024. Niger is a focus country for USAID’s Feed the
accused soldiers in Niger of forcibly disappearing nearly
Future program and the President’s Malaria Initiative. It is
200 people during an operation near the Mali border.
also completing a $443 million MCC compact focusing on
The Economy and Humanitarian Conditions
food security. U.S. security cooperation—largely provided
under regional and global programs—includes State
Niger is among the world’s poorest and least developed
Department counterterrorism and peacekeeping assistance,
countries. Limited arable land, high population growth, and
Defense Department “global train-and-equip” support, and
natural disasters (namely, droughts and flooding) have
military exercises. Indiana’s National Guard has a State
fueled widespread food insecurity and malnutrition. Other
Partnership Program with Niger’s military.
health challenges include malaria and outbreaks of measles,
meningitis, cholera, and polio. Child marriage and
U.S. Hostages. Jeffery Woodke, an American, was
adolescent motherhood are common; access to education is
kidnapped from his home in western Niger in 2016 and
limited, particularly for girls and in rural areas. Insecurity
freed in March 2023, reportedly from JNIM custody. An
and displacement have further strained local communities
American nun who was kidnapped in Burkina Faso in early
and obstructed basic service delivery. Demographic
2022 was released to Nigerien authorities later that year.
pressures—Niger has the world’s highest fertility rate—and
Bazoum’s government credited talks with Islamist
the effects of climate change deepen Niger’s challenges.
militants. In 2020, U.S. military forces intervened in
Nigeria to free a U.S. hostage who was seized in Niger.
While the vast majority of Nigériens are engaged in
agriculture and/or livestock herding, the formal economy
Alexis Arieff, Specialist in African Affairs
centers on mining (particularly uranium and gold) and
emergent oil production. Niger’s role as a top global
IF12464
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Niger: In Focus
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