December 2015 THE OPPORTUNITY REVER

page 7

A Very Young Population

The median age of the Nigerien population is only 15.2 years old1. So about half of this population is
within regular school age. Primary school enrollment numbers are about 78% for males and 66% for
females2. These numbers are still well shy of universal enrollment and there is a gender gap as well.

School-Age Population

Pre-Primary 1,830,951

Primary 3,001,874

Secondary 2,554,102

Tertiary 1,240,698

Low Literacy Rates

Currently in Niger, just over a quarter of the adult population can read3. However an immensely
greater proportion of the youth population are literate as compared to the adults. This is promising
in that it suggests that students are learning in school however, these statistics are still very low
compared to global standards. Additionally, there is again a significant gender gap.

Literacy Rates

Youth Adult

Male: 52.4% Female: 23.2% Male: 21.2% Female: 7.5%

1
CIA World Factbook, Niger.
2
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Niger.
3
UNICEF, At a Glance: Niger.