How poor can a country be?
Many people have the impression that most of Africa is poor enough, but in Africa, Niger has an absolute say in who is poorer.
Niger is about the size of Tibet on the mainland, and as one of the least developed countries in the world, people living in Niger can't even afford to drink water, but they can eat meat every day.
If you give a small piece of gold and a bottle of water to the locals, I am afraid that they will not hesitate to choose water, and the local capital seems to be even more backward than the countryside, what kind of life do the people here?
The vicious circle of Niger
Many people will ask, what is the difference between Niger and Nepal?
Although there is only a one-word difference, the two countries are not very related, Nepal is located in South Asia, and Niger is located in central Africa, which is far apart, but very poor is their common characteristic.
As a landlocked country in Africa, with the Sahara Desert as its neighbor, Niger has created a very harsh natural environment, and there is a reason why it can be one of the least developed countries declared by the United Nations.
Niger is so poor that it relies on animal husbandry and agriculture to develop its economy, but water is arguably more precious than gold in Niger, without which livestock and crops cannot survive, so they fall into a vicious circle.
There are five main ethnic groups in Niger, the country is divided into seven regions and one regional city, and there has never been a unified dynasty in Niger's history.
During the 7th and 16th centuries, the northwestern part of Niger belonged to the Songhai Empire, in the 8th-18th centuries, the eastern part of Niger belonged to the Bonnu Empire, and at the end of the 18th century, the Pall Empire was established in the central part of Niger, and in 1922 it became a French colony, and it was not until 1960 that it declared independence.
Since ancient times, the Chinese have paid attention to relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, relying on the water to draft, and relying on the convenience brought by the natural environment to develop, but for Niger, nature has brought them only the desert.
Although the environment of neighboring countries is also very harsh, at least there are oil and other resources to maintain economic development, and Niger has high temperatures in addition to deserts.
Local children
Due to the harsh living environment and the lack of resources, it is not an exaggeration to call it a country forgotten by God, and the local heat has naturally become a big test for the locals.
Temperatures are generally high in Africa, while Niger has an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius or more, which also contributes to very dry conditions.
Although located on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, it rains in Niger, but in such hot weather, even a downpour of rain can quickly evaporate the water, as if it had never rained before.
What's more, the number of rains throughout the year is very rare, the rainy season in a year is only three months, these three months are not necessarily rainy, and the rain will be quickly evaporated due to the high temperature, so for Niger, water is the most precious thing.
In such high temperatures, there is still an extreme shortage of water, and although they can only rely on agriculture and animal husbandry, no crops can survive here.
So in the local area, not only water is very expensive and rare, but vegetables are also very precious, so the only thing they can count on is animal husbandry.
While the vast majority of livestock do not survive without sufficient water, there are also animals such as camels that do not need much water to drink.
For their own livestock, the local people in Niger would rather not drink water themselves, but also let the animals drink water, otherwise there will be no economic resources, so in Niger, more than 44% of children are malnourished, and they have not even seen vegetables since they were young.
There is no rurally developed capital
In 2022, Niger's GDP was US$13.97 billion, a pitiful US$533 per capita, compared to about US$412 a decade ago.
Such a slow rate of growth is already a harbinger of what the country's capital, Niamey, will look like.
Niamey is the capital of Niger, located on the left bank of the Niger River, and although the geographical location is not bad, the population is very sparse, only about 1 million.
The vast majority of the buildings are mud houses, which can effectively withstand the local hot climate, and at least a small number of wealthy people can live in relatively modern houses.
Even compared with most rural areas on the mainland, the capital of Niger is not as developed as the rural areas on the mainland, but even if there is no water, no food and no money, they can still eat meat at a meal.
In Niger, one of the most common scenes is barbecued meat, although there is less water and less vegetables, but they have more livestock, so the main source of food is meat.
The cooking method is naturally very simple, after the rack is roasted on the fire, it can be eaten directly by simply seasoning, after all, there is no condition for more complex cooking.
Resources of Niger
Although Niger is very poor in all respects and wants nothing, in fact, Niger has rich uranium resources, and even ranks fifth in the world.
It stands to reason that with such abundant uranium resources, they should not have been so poor, and the reason for all this is to look back at the history of Niger.
Historically, Niger was a French colony, and the original French were just looking for some metal minerals in Niger, but they found uranium resources by mistake.
Since it belongs to the French colony, these resources found naturally go into the pockets of France, and they do not care whether Niger will have any consequences due to excessive exploitation.
Even after Niger became independent, the right to exploit uranium remained with France, as they signed treaties during the colonization.
Therefore, even if it has abundant resources, it can only watch others exploit it with their own eyes, and with the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Niger, the situation in Niger has finally improved.
With China's help, it has not only assisted Niger with a large amount of living resources, such as food and water, but also helped Niger build infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.
In addition to China, other countries in the world are also helping Niger by stimulating the local economy through trade and other means.
It can be said that Niger is very dependent on other countries, and in addition to the mainland, the United States, France, Germany, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank have all bailed out it.
However, by August 2023, France, Germany, and the European Union have stopped their aid to Niger, and the United States has also stopped some of its aid.
This also shows that if Niger wants to change its domestic situation, the most important thing is to rely on its own strength to develop, otherwise once it loses external assistance, it will be beaten back to its original shape again.