Background
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[ Geography ] [ People ] [ Government ] [ Economy ] [ Communications ] [ Transportation ] [ Military ]

Geography

Background: 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 in December 1999.

Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 8 00 E

Area:
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km
water : 300 sq km

Land boundaries:
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: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south

Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m

Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum

Land use:
arable land: 3.94%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 96.05% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 660 sq km (1998)

Natural hazards: recurring droughts

Environment - current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: 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

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People

Population: 9,388,859 (July 1997 est.), 10,075,511 (July 2000 est.); 10,639,744 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,594,932; female 2,503,867)
15-64 years: 49.8% (male 2,594,307; female 2,706,164)
65 years and over: 2.3% (male 125,898; female 114,576) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.98% (1997 est.); 2.75% (2000 est.); 2.7% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 53.73 births/1,000 population (1997 est.), 51.45 births/1,000 population (2000 est.); 49.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 23.98 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.), 23.17 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.); 22.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.); -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 116 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.), 124.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.); 122.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 41.91 years
male: 41.77 years
female: 42.04 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.16 children born/woman (2000 est.); 7 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien

Ethnic groups: 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: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians

Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 15.3%
male: 21.2%
female: 9.4% (2002.)

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Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger
local long form : Republique du Niger
local short form: Niger

Government type: republic

National capital: Niamey

Administrative divisions: 7 departments (departements, singular - departement), and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder

Independence: 3 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Republic Day, 18 December (1958)

Constitution: the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mamadou TANDJA (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
note:President Ibrahim BARE was assassinated on 9 April 1999; subsequent elections held under the nine-month provisional government of Major Daouda Mallam WANKE
cabinet: 23-member cabinet appointed by President TANDJA
elections : president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: Mamadou TANDJA elected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 60%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 40%

Legislative branch: 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 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 Lahia 4

Judicial branch: State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Apel

Political parties and leaders: 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]

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Flag description: 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

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Economy

Economy - overview: 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 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1996 est.); $9.6 billion (1999 est.); $8.4 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - 4% (1996 est.), 2% (1999 est.); 3.1% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $640 (1996 est.), $1,000 (1999 est.); $820 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 41%
industry: 17%
services: 42% (2000)

Population below poverty line: 63% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.3% (1992)

Inflation rate - consumer prices: 10.6% (1995 est.); 4.2% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
4.679 million (persons 10 years old and over, according to a sample survey taken in 1991)
Note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment

Labor force: total: 2.5 million wage earners (1982), 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (1999)
by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%

Unemployment rate: N/A

Budget:
revenues: $200 million (1997), $377 million, including $146 million from foreign sources (1999 est.; $320 million, including $134 million from foreign sources (2002 est)
expenditures : $387 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.), $377 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1999 est.); $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.)

Industries: uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity - production: 230 million kWh (1991); 220 million kWh (2000)
note: imports about 200 million kW of electricity from Nigeria, 180 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0%
nuclear: 0% (2000)

Electricity - consumption: 363 million kWh (1998); 404.6 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports: 196 million kWh (1998); 200 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry

Exports:
total value: $247 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.), $269 million (f.o.b., 1997); $246 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.)
partners:US, Greece, Japan, France, Nigeria, Benin (1998); France 43.4%, Nigeria 35.0%, Spain 4.5%, US 3.9% (2000)

Imports:
total value : $307 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.), $295 million (c.i.f., 1997); $331 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
partners: France, Cote d'Ivoire, US, Benelux, Nigeria (1997); France 16.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.4%, US 9.6%, Nigeria 7.6% (2000)

Debt - external: $1.6 billion (1995 est.), $1.3 billion (1999 est.); $1.6 billion (1999)

Economic aid:
recipient:$222 million (1995); $341 million (1997) note: 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

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro
note: since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro

Fiscal year: calendar year

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Communications

Telephones: 13,000 (1995); 20,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 13,000 (1995); 6,700 (2002)

Telephone system: fair system
small system of wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in southwestern area
domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001)

Radios: 680,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002)

Televisions: 125,000 (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)

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Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km
unpaved: 9,302 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: the Niger is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: 26 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total : 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
under 914 m: 2 (2001.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 2 (2001)

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Military

Military branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Police

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,137,181 (2000 est.); 2,270,793 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 1,155,054 (2000 est.); 1,227,994 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $20 million (FY96); $20.9 million (FY01

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.1% (FY96); 1.3% (FY01)

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