Country's GDP expected to grow by 5.2 pct in 2016 - IMF

May 11, 2016 6:05 AM

Niger is ranked bottom of the U.N. Human Development Index. It has been targeted multiple times by militant group Boko Haram based in neighbouring northeastern Nigeria.

Chinese and Nigerien construction workers work on the site of an Islamic university in Niamey, Niger, February 22, 2016.

Niger's economy is expected to grow by 5.2 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, buoyed by agriculture and expected improvements in mining and oil production.

"The economic perspectives in the medium-term remain favourable but are subject to considerable interior and exterior risks," the IMF's Cheikh Anta Gueye said in a statement.

Regional security, economic and environmental issues remained threats to the West African economy's growth, Gueye said. GDP growth was expected to rise to an average of 6 percent between 2017 and 2019.

The uranium producer grew by 7 percent in 2014 but growth slowed last year to 3.5 percent because of problems in the agricultural sector and decreased oil and mining production, according to the IMF.

Niger is ranked bottom of the U.N. Human Development Index. It has been targeted multiple times by militant group Boko Haram based in neighbouring northeastern Nigeria.