Agriculture employs 8 % of Niger’s labor force, which includes many subsistence farmers and pastoralists. In spite of the general aridity of the nation, agriculture provides 41 % of gross domestic product (GDP), second only to services, which offer 42 %. Agriculture has largely recovered from the effects of the disastrous Sahel drought of the early 1970s. Manufacturing enterprises are mostly very small. In 1993 the national budget included $400 million in expenditures and only $188 million in revenues.

The economic system is based upon planning but accords an valuable role to private enterprise. The three main policy objectives are the maintenance of national unity, the elevation of the living standards of the population, and the attainment of economic freedom. The private area of the economy consists partly of a multitude of small enterprises and partly of enterprises belonging to large French or international companies. The government, through the agency of the Development Bank of the Republic of Niger, which is funded partly by aid from abroad, has promoted the establishment of many companies, including real estate, road transport, air transport, and agricultural processing enterprises.

Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, because of declining world demand. The 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January 1994 boosted exports of farm animal, cowpeas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid - which was inactive following the April 1999 coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In 2000, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $35 million to help support fiscal reforms. reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation.