All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
"Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road. ”
Most people have the impression that they are poor if they can't even afford to eat, but there is one country that is different, where people eat meat, but it is known as one of the poorest countries in the world.
The women and children here are looking for food and the remnants of the rain in the desert, and even the capital of this country can only be compared to the countryside of the mainland, and the whole city reveals this "poverty", which is the Niger, a country forgotten by "God".
But what kind of existence is Niger?
How poor is Niger?
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita GDP of about $500 in 2021.
However, this makes Niger the most desperate country in the world, located in the central and western part of Africa, with a land area of about 126.7 square kilometers, and a predominantly black hid-nation state, 88% of the country's population is Muslim.
Niger's cultural development is relatively late, and it has not established a unified kingdom in history, but has often been oppressed and invaded by neighboring powers.
In the 19th century, it was invaded by France and eventually became a colony, and at the end of World War II, France's strength slowly faded, and Niger had the idea of independence, which was not obvious at the time.
Later, under the leadership of Hamani Diori, Niger declared independence in 1960 and established a republic, but because of the instability of the situation, several coups were launched, which led to a bit of chaos in the country.
In addition, Niger is one of the most hostile countries in the world, with most of the country covered by the Sahara Desert, with only a small area being plains and very little cultivable area.
And Niger is also known as one of the hottest countries, with an average temperature of 30 degrees throughout the year, and even 60 degrees in summer, which is equivalent to living in a "flaming mountain".
Such high temperatures pose a very high challenge to the growth of local crops and the survival of human beings, especially under strong ultraviolet radiation, people's skin is easily sunburned.
Plants are also difficult to grow, so many people choose to migrate, leaving behind those who cannot leave for some reason, so it is difficult to see a large area of vegetables grown in Niger, especially for the poor, eating a bite of vegetables is a luxury.
Although Niger is a poor place, people here can eat meat every day, because some places are very suitable for the development of livestock, so most people choose to raise cattle and sheep, so that people can better get fresh meat, so Niger is also known as the "barbecue city".
Although food can be replaced by meat, they are most lacking in water, which can be said to be more expensive than gold, and some poor families may have to walk more than ten kilometers in order to find some water.
According to everyone, in front of water and meat, everyone must choose to eat meat, and the reason why they choose meat is because water is sufficiently guaranteed, but for the people of Niger, they are more eager for water.
The quality of life is not guaranteed, let alone nation-building, and if you go to the capital of Niger, you will definitely be shocked.
Because, as the façade of a country, the capital is not to mention the bright lights, the high-rise buildings, but Niger is just the opposite, not to mention any high-rise buildings, and even inferior to some rural areas in the mainland.
The rural areas of the mainland have long been slowly urbanized, and although there are not so many high-rise buildings, some families have built small bungalows and even villas.
However, in the case of the capital of Niger, this is all luxury, the buildings are basically made of mud, they don't look solid, and if there is a big earthquake, it feels like they will have to be rebuilt.
This is mainly because Niamey, the capital of Niger, was a small rural village in the early days, and it has developed rapidly since it was listed as the national capital, with a population of 1 million people, but in addition to the relatively large scale, there are no other characteristics, only poverty remains, and the country's economic development cannot develop, which leads to many domestic construction and infrastructure lagging behind other countries.
Although Niger is very poor and the environment is still poor, under this yellow sand, there are many rich resources hidden, so that Niger still has the conditions for development.
resource
Although Niger is not outstanding in all aspects, it contains rich resources, such as: phosphate, coal, gold, tin and uranium and other mineral resources, phosphate reserves of 1.254 billion tons, ranking fourth in the world, currently underexploited.
In particular, Niger's shaft resources have been proved to be 420,000 tons, and according to 2020, the output has reached 2,991 tons, making it the fifth largest shaft producer in the world.
However, instead of creating good conditions for the country, such a good resource provides energy for France, because nuclear energy is the largest source of energy for France, and nuclear power generation is the largest source of electricity for France.
It is the axis from the Sahara Desert in Niger that allows France to be fully electrified, and at the same time the nuclear energy in France is well developed.
Logically speaking, Niger mainly mines shafts, although it gives a lot to France, but even if it is followed by soup, it can make the country develop very well, how can it be so poor.
It turned out that the control of the shaft mine in Niger was in the hands of a company called Areva, and this company belonged to France, and in 1974, Areva established the company Cominac.
The company is engaged in shaft mining in Niger and has also discovered what is claimed to be the world's largest underground shaft mine in Niger.
Even if the export shaft makes money, France will take most of the revenue through the Areva group, and sometimes it is difficult for Niger to drink soup.
In addition, the French team has a lot of control over Niger, especially on the axis, and according to the agreement between France and Niger, France has the "pricing power" over Niger's axis minerals.
Through a series of operations, France has firmly grasped Niger's shaft mining assets, which can be said to have a great impact on Niger.
But the main root cause is that the finance obtained by France from the exploitation of Niger's axis resources has not remained in the local area, because after the exploitation of the French economy, it has worked tirelessly to pull it to France for processing, and it is not refined locally, resulting in the local social development still stuck in a long time ago.
So, despite all these resources, Niger is still known as one of the poorest countries in the world. However, in recent years, it has been relatively good, and China's nuclear power has developed rapidly, and it has also strengthened cooperation with Niger.
In 2011, the Agadem oilfield integration project undertaken by PetroChina was completed, and Niger has since stepped into the ranks of oil and refined oil producers, basically realizing self-sufficiency in refined oil products, and has a relatively complete oil industry system with the integration of the upstream, midstream and downstream of the country.
It can be said that Niger relies on China, the oil industry has grown from scratch, and China has become the largest source of investment in Niger, as a friendly country, the Chinese and Nepalese people are connected to each other with solid cooperation.
epilogue
Many countries have extended a helping hand to the current situation in Niger, hoping to give Niger better help, and China is among them.
However, according to the current international situation, there is no eternal support, if you want to truly get rid of poverty, you must stand up yourself, if you don't fight yourself, then no country is willing to support.
I suddenly remembered a sentence: Reincarnation is a technical job, and no matter how ambitious you are, if you are cast into the country of Niger, you will naturally be powerless! I hope that Niger will get better and better in the future.
Key Sources:
This article was originally published in a report by the Hunan Provincial People's Government on June 18, 2019 on "Niger: the world's largest uranium producer".
This article was originally published on May 27, 2023 in the Daily Economic on the world's poorest countries in 2023
The original article was published in Hunan Daily on June 18, 2019 on entering Africa丨Niger: the world's largest uranium producer
The original article was published on Guangming.com on September 26, 2022 about [I am an ambassador in China] China helps Niger embark on the fast track of development