Niger, one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries, is not really where you would expect to find one of the world’s leading international universities. But think again.

More than 3,300 students from 23 countries on the African continent have been studying at the Islamic University in Niger since it opened in the landlocked West African nation in 1986. 

And since its female campus, the $65-million Niamey University Complex for Girls, opened in 2021, 3,000 female students from around the continent study there. There is accommodation for about 1,500 female students on campus.