Niger is a landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, bordered by Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. Although rich in uranium, Niger has for decades ranked at the end of the United Nations Human Development Index (2021: 189th out of 191). At less than 15 percent, literacy among its approximately 27 million inhabitants is among the lowest in the world, even lower among women.
