8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Niger

About 1 in 121 people born in 2023 started life in Niger. A boy can expect to live 60 years and a girl 62, up from 36 and 36 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 53% have basic drinking water.

1 in 121
odds of being born here
1.1 million births · Ranked 27th of 230
60 / 62
years of life, boys / girls
Was 36 / 36 in 1950
$1,322
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 195th of 203 · extrapolated
18%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 25 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 328 in every 1,000 births to 116.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth60.3 years for boys, 62.1 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 5116.0 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year232,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.0World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles80%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year83 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year305 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 6.1.

Children per woman
02.557.510195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman6.06UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 42 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
9%Poorest fifth
12%Second
16%Middle
21%Fourth
42%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,322 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth42% / 9% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment0.4% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises3.7% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-0.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming74% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed89% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment22% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Niamey, with 1.3 million people.

18%
live in cities
20%
have electricity at home
53%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Niamey1.3 million
Maradi361,702
Zinder318,874
Tahoua159,468
Agadez149,549
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Hausa41%
Zarma17%
French13%
Tamashek6%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Niamey1.3 million
Maradi Region600,470
Zinder Region482,064
Tahoua Region363,524
Agadez344,558
Tillabéri Region261,275
Dosso Region210,505
Diffa103,895

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 1.6% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Nigeria129,540
Ivory Coast97,848
Benin82,865
Residents born abroad1.7% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 1.6% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostNigeria (129,540), Ivory Coast (97,848), Benin (82,865)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $650.4 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

6% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

6%
of older people receive a pension (2015)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2020)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024315Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence7,045 between 1989 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Niger, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Niger

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences