Niger; Staff Report for the 2011 Article IV Consultation

Niger's government has adopted an ambitious development plan, based on the use of oil and mining revenue for public investment in infrastructure, agriculture, health, and education. IMF staff underlined the need to step up efforts to improve the business climate in Niger to attract more jobs, thereby creating private investment in the nonnatural resources sector of the economy. Expanded reliance on revenues from natural resources will increase Niger’s vulnerability to commodity price fluctuations, augmenting the high vulnerability to climatic shocks.