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  Niger  
Flag of Niger
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  Introduction
  Geography
  People
  Government
  Economy
  Communications
  Transportation
  Military
  Transnational Issues

In general, information available as of 1 January, 2004
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2004.


This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004


Map of Niger

Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Niger
Background:
Definition Field Listing
Not until 1993, 33 years after independence from France, did Niger hold its first free and open elections. A 1995 peace accord ended a five-year Tuareg insurgency in the north. Coups in 1996 and 1999 were followed by the creation of a National Reconciliation Council that effected a transition to civilian rule by December 1999. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa.
   Geography    Niger
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Western Africa, southeast of Algeria
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
16 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Africa
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 1.267 million sq km
water: 300 sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 5,697 km
border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
Definition Field Listing
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 3.94%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 96.06% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
660 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
recurring droughts
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world: northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture
   People    Niger
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
11,360,538 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 47.5% (male 2,749,039; female 2,643,479)
15-64 years: 50.4% (male 2,799,125; female 2,925,133)
65 years and over: 2.1% (male 128,101; female 115,661) (2004 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 16.2 years
male: 15.7 years
female: 16.7 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.67% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
48.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
21.51 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
-0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 122.66 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 118.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 126.96 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 42.18 years
male: 42.38 years
female: 41.97 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.83 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200 French expatriates
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 17.6%
male: 25.8%
female: 9.7% (2003 est.)
   Government    Niger
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger
local short form: Niger
local long form: Republique du Niger
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Niamey
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
7 departments (departements, singular - departement) and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
3 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Republic Day, 18 December (1958)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President TANDJA Mamadou (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President TANDJA Mamadou (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 31 December 1999) was appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president
cabinet: 23-member Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: TANDJA Mamadou elected president; percent of vote - TANDJA Mamadou 59.9%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 40.1%
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral National Assembly (83 seats, members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNSD-Nassara 38, CDS-Rahama 17, PNDS-Tarayya 16, RDP-Jama'a 8, ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya 4
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Democratic Rally of the People-Jama'a or RDP-Jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]; Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Mamadou TANDJA, chairman]; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya or PNDS-Tarayya [Mahamadou ISSOUFOU]; Union of Democratic Patriots and Progressives-Chamoua or UPDP-Chamoua [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MICAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph DIATTA
FAX: [1] (202)483-3169
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Gail Dennise Thomas MATHIEU
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey
mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey
telephone: [227] 72 26 61 through 72 26 64
FAX: [227] 73 31 67, 72-31-46
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band
   Economy    Niger
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and 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 livestock, cowpeas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid - which was suspended following the April 1999 coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In 2000-01, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $105 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. The IMF approved a $73 million poverty reduction and growth facility for Niger in 2000 and announced $115 million in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Further disbursements of aid occurred in 2002. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $9.062 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.8% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17%
services: 44% (2001)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
63% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
50.5 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA% (2002 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.)
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
242 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
Definition Field Listing
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
325.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
100 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$280 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
France 39.1%, Nigeria 33.3%, Japan 17.3% (2002)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$400 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
France 17%, Cote d'Ivoire 14.9%, China 9.9%, Nigeria 7.3%, US 5.3%, Japan 4.6%, India 4.3% (2002)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$1.6 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$341 million (1997)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
XOF
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Niger
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
22,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
16,600 (2002)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger
domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned
international: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.ne
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
119 (2002)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15,000 (2002)
   Transportation    Niger
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 km
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km
unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
300 km
note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
none
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
27 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 2 (2003 est.)
   Military    Niger
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army, Air Force, National Intervention and Security Force
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age (2004 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 2,460,637 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 1,333,027 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 122,363 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$21.7 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.1% (2003)
   Transnational Issues    Niger
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias

This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004


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