Let Me Tell You About Where We’re Going – # 2

In my last post, I wrote about some basic location and environmental facts of Niger. This is building off of that post, so if you would like a refresher please see the last post in December. Today we will be diving into some fun facts about the demographics of the country.

Population and Language:

Niger has a population of 20,658,000 with 36 people groups. Of those groups, the most predominate are the Hausa and Zarma/Songhai. A majority of the population is also under the age of 25.

Since the 1960s there has been a steady emigration of Nigeriens to other West African countries. The lack of adequate arable land and water, cause people to leave for countries with a more stable economy where they can find work.

A farmer examining once arable soil, that is now mostly useless after a drought in 2005.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger#/media/File:Niger_Farm_sand_tv_16aug05.jpg

A sobering statistic I found in my research was that almost 40% of children under the age of 5 are underweight. My heart hurts when I hear this, and I long to eventually be able to help this statistic diminish in even a small way.

French is the national language, although I have been told it is a second language to most. Other widely spoken languages are Hausa and Djarma. Our family will be going to school to learn French, so that we can live in the culture, and engage with the local people. I am really stoked to be learning a second language, as I have always wanted to, but I never was able to practice any language enough to retain it.

Religion:

Islam is the largest religion in Niger at 94.3%. The other small percentage is made up of beliefs indigenous to West Africa and Christianity.

Literacy:

There is often a lack of adequate educational opportunities in Niger, which has led to a low literacy rate. 19.1% of the adult population is known to be able to read and write. 27.3% of males can read and write and 11% of females. Most students are only in school for 5 years before they look for employment or have to drop out for other reasons.

A primary school classroom in Niger.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger#/media/File:Niger_primary_school_MCC3500.jpg

I realize completely that these facts may be far more interesting to me, then most of the people reading this. If you made it this far, let me just say that I am so proud of you! Way to stick it out. Finding out about new places fascinates me, and I am excited to bring you all along on this journey with our family.

Keep checking back for more updates and facts about where we are going!

-The Thunders

Matthew 12:21 - “In his [Jesus] name the nations will put their hope.”

All written facts on this post were derived from the CIA World Factbook and the Joshua Project