Family in Niger

Most unions in Niger are customary rather than civil. The Civil Code sets the minimum marriage age at 18 for men and 15 for women, but early, arranged or forced marriages remain major risks, and enforcement of sanctions or annulment is uneven. Available estimates indicate that about 76% of young women married before age 18 and about 28% before age 15. Polygamy and the dot, a customary marriage payment, can also affect household responsibilities, economic security and disputes. Niger adopted a national child-marriage plan for 2024–2028. Prevention pathways include education, Illimin programmes, community-based child protection and social or protection services, but access depends on location, security and community support. Marriage registration is handled through maires or their deputies and, in some areas, secondary civil-status centres. Registration is officially free and the certificate can be issued immediately when the requirements are complete. The process generally requires the spouses, proof of age and identity, parents, witnesses, the agreed dot and the matrimonial regime. If the marriage was not concluded before the registrar, it should be reported within 10 days. Customary or religious recognition may remain socially decisive, but an unregistered marriage can provide weaker documentary proof for inheritance, custody, maintenance and other official procedures. Birth registration is required. A father, mother or person who attended the birth can report it. A health facility should report the birth immediately and no later than 10 days; the general registration period is 30 days. Registration and the certificate are officially free, but late registration can lead to fines and, in some cases, a longer and more expensive justice procedure. The certificate supports identity documents, travel, school enrolment and voting. Only about six in ten children have a birth certificate according to available evidence, so families should check registration before a document is needed urgently. Care is provided primarily by households and extended kin. Women often carry most childcare and domestic work. Niger has no evidenced nationwide universal family allowance, formal long-term care system or unified family-counselling pathway. Health and social services, community groups, humanitarian assistance and kinship networks can provide functional alternatives, but availability, quality and cost vary. Reproductive-health and under-five services are intended to be free under Law No. 2006-16, although implementation is not consistent. Postpartum family planning is a central need: about one quarter of women of reproductive age are postpartum, around 40% of postpartum women lack modern contraception, only about half receive counselling, and 57% of surveyed facilities reported stock-outs. In 2024, UNFPA reported more than 626,000 new modern-contraceptive users, more than 218,000 girls reached through Illimin and 1,100 fistula treatments. Child protection services address violence, forced or child marriage, gender-based violence, orphaned or unsupported children and children who are lost, separated or affected by migration. More than 80% of children experience violent discipline in available evidence. Comités villageois de protection de l’enfant bring together a village chief, imam, school and health representatives, women, adolescents and community relays. Their formal role is protection and referral, while much community work is voluntary. Social-welfare and justice coordination remains uneven, and families may need to combine community referral, health care, social services and judicial assistance. Households affected by poverty or shocks may qualify for targeted support through adaptive safety nets, the Registre Social Unifié and grievance mechanisms. Eligibility is not universal and depends on the programme, commune and household situation. A 2025 UNICEF operation covered 26,779 vulnerable households in 17 communes with 45,000 CFA per household. About 80,000 households were recorded in the social registry, with expansion to 160,000 planned. Availability and payment amounts can change; a World Bank project closed in June 2025, although technical support continued. Separation, divorce and guardianship may involve civil, customary and Islamic practices at the same time. Custody, guardianship, repudiation, maintenance and inheritance can produce conflicts, and women’s access to rights and services is uneven. Niger has no evidenced nationwide uniform family-mediation or family-benefit pathway, so documentation, the child’s safety and best interests, and early referral to social or judicial services are central safeguards. Death registration is required and may be reported by a spouse, parent, close neighbour, medical or law-enforcement official, or witness. A health facility should report a death within 10 days, and the general registration period is 30 days. Registration and the death certificate are officially free, although late fines may apply. The certificate supports inheritance procedures and applications for social assistance. After a death, support commonly comes from relatives, community networks, the social registry or humanitarian channels; detailed succession rules belong to civil-law procedures and can require local legal advice.