Niger Case Study Flashcards
1
Q
What is Niger’s population like?
A
- According to the UN’s HDI, Niger is the poorest country on earth.
- 2.5 million out of 17 million have no secure source of food.
- Most of its population lives off subsistence crops from a small plot of infertile land.
- In August 2010, 12 million Nigerians faced serious food shortages.
- Aprox. 10% of children under 5 suffer accute malnutrition.
- Niger’s population is increasing by 3.9% each year, the world record.
2
Q
What are Niger’s land and conditions like?
A
- Only 12% of Niger’s land area recieves enough rain to sustain agriculture (by 2100, estimated to be nine left).
- Between 1990-2005, it lost 35% of its forest cover.
- Enormous pressure on resources because of overpopulation, e.g. 2 million tonnes of firewood are used/ year, twice the amount of naturanl replacement growth.
3
Q
Why is the population increasing so much?
A
- Average of 7.6 children/ woman (highest in the world)
- Ignorance and poor access to contraception
- Poverty (children are an economic advantage)
- Cultural issues like competition between wives
- Men in Niger tend to be polygamous, so families will be very large
- Famine and disease means higher infant mortality rate, so women have more children
- In 2012 only 12% of women used contraception
- Lack of education, e.g. in Zinder, a woman thought birth control would cause her hemorages
