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The World Factbook 2002
| Niger |

Introduction | Niger

Background: | Not until 1993, 35 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.

Geography | Niger

Location: | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria
Geographic coordinates: | 16 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references: | Africa
Area: | total: 1.267 million sq km water: 300 sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly less than twice the size of Texas
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: 4% permanent crops: 0% other: 96% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 660 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | recurring droughts
Environment - current issues: | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, 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

People | Niger

Population: | 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: | 2.7% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 49.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 22.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | -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: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 122.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 41.91 years female: 41.77 years (2002 est.) male: 42.04 years
Total fertility rate: | 7 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 4% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 17,700 (2002est.)
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 Christian
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)

Government | Niger

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Niger conventional short form: Niger local short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger
Government type: | republic
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 1958 (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
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: Mamadou TANDJA elected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 59.9%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 40.1%

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 Lahiya 4
Judicial branch: | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel

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]

Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
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
Diplomatic representation in the US: | 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: | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbro OWENS-KIRKPATRICK 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
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

Economy | Niger

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 - $8.4 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 3.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $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%: 0.8% highest 10%: 35.4% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 50.5 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 4.2% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%
Unemployment rate: | NA%
Budget: | revenues: $320 million, including $134 million from foreign sources expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.)
Industries: | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses
Industrial production growth rate: | NA%
Electricity - production: | 220 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 404.6 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: | 200 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry
Exports: | $246 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.)
Exports - partners: | France 43.4%, Nigeria 35.0%, Spain 4.5%, US 3.9% (2000)
Imports: | $331 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
Imports - partners: | France 16.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.4%, US 9.6%, Nigeria 7.6% (2000)
Debt - external: | $1.6 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $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: | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Currency code: | XOF
Exchange rates: | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 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
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Niger

Telephones - main lines in use: | 20,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 6,700 (2002)
Telephone system: | 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: 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 country code: | .ne
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000)
Internet users: | 3,000 (2000)

Transportation | Niger

Railways: | 0 km (2002)
Highways: | total: 10,100 km paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1996)
Waterways: | 300 km note: the Niger River is navigable 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: 1 (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)

Military | Niger

Military branches: | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Intervention and Security Force
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 2,270,793 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 1,227,994 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 108,993 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $20.9 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.3% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | Niger

Disputes - international:

Niger and Benin have refered to the ICJ the dispute over l'Ete and 14 smaller islands in the Niger River, which has never been delimited; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger in a currently dormant dispute

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002