Niger

Republic of Niger

republicIndependence 3 August 1960 (from France)

Niger as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 95 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalNiamey

Position16 00 N, 8 00 E

Area1.267 million sq km

LocationWestern Africa, southeast of Algeria

Populationas each edition published it

9.39 million July 1997 est. · 7.97m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.98% 1997 est. · 3.49% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 16.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

41.09 years 1997 est. · 44.15 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

7.37 children per woman 1997 est. · 7.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

116 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 131 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$640 1996 est. · $290 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

4% 1996 est. · 1.9% in 1993

Geography

Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

18 fields

Land use(1993 est.)

arable land 3%permanent crops 0%permanent pastures 7%forests and woodland 2%other 88% (1993 est.)irrigated 660 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

1.267million sq km

land: 1,266,700 sq kmwater : 300 sq kmslightly less than twice the size of Texas

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Highest point

1,944m

Mont Grebounlowest point : Niger River 200 m

Land boundaries

5,697km

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

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

Natural resources

uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates

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:: Law of the Sea

People

15 fields

Population

9,388,859

(July 1997 est.)growth rate: 2.98% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth

53.73Death

23.98Net migration

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1997 est.)41.09

41.44 · 40.73

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1995 est.)13.6%

20.9% · 6.6%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Age structure

0-14 years:: 48% (male 2,303,790; female 2,207,542)
15-64 years:: 50% (male 2,272,535; female 2,381,033)
65 years and over:: 2% (male 118,333; female 105,626) (July 1997 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 1.12 male(s)/female
total population:: 1 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate

116 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 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 4,000 French expatriates

Religions

Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians

Government

Republic; President Ibrahim BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996); President Ibraham BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996)

19 fields

Country name

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

Administrative divisions

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

Constitution

the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996

Legal system

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

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Ibrahim BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996); note - President is chief of state and head of government
head of government:: President Ibraham BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996);
note - President is chief of state and head of government;
Prime Minister Amadou Boubacar CISSE (since 21 December 1996) was appointed by the president
cabinet:: Council of Ministers appointed by President BARE
elections :: the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
last election 7-8 July 1996 (next election NA 2001);
note - Ibrahim BARE Mainassara initially became president when he ousted President Mahamane OUSMANE in a coup on 27 January 1996 and subsequently defeated him in the flawed election of July 1996
election results:: percent of total vote - Ibrahim BARE Mainassara 52.22%, Mahamane OUSMANE 19.75%, Tandja MAMADOU 15.65%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 7.60%, Moumouni AMADOU Djermakoye 4.77%

Legislative branch

two chamber National Assembly;
one chamber with 83 seats directly elected by proportional representation for five-year terms;
selection process for second chamber not established

elections:: last held 23 November1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results :: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UNIRD 59, ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya 8, UDPS-Amana 3, coalition of independents 3, MDP-Alkwali 1, UPDP-Shamuwa 4, DARAJA 3, PMT-Albarka 2

Judicial branch

State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Apel

Political parties and leaders

Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP-AUMUNCI [Issoufou BACHARD, chairman];
DARAJA [Ali TALBA, chairman];
Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE];
Movement for Development and Pan-Africanism or MDP-Alkwali [Mai Manga BOUCAR, chairman];
National Movement of the Development Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Tandja MAMADOU, chairman];
National Union of Independents for Democratic Revival or UNIRD [leader NA];
Niger Progressive Party-African Democratic Rally or PPN-RDA [Dori ABDOULAI];
Niger Social Democrat Party or PADN [Malam Adji WAZIRI];
Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya or PNDS-Tarayya [Mahamadou ISSOUFOU];
Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahia or ANDPS-Zaman Lahia [Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE];
PMT-Albarka;
Union for Democracy and Social Progress-Amana or UDPS-Amana [Akoli DAOUEL];
Union of Patriots, Democrats, and Progressives-Shamuwa or UPDP-Shamuwa [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman];
Union of Popular Forces for Democracy and Progress-Sawaba or UFPDP-Sawaba [Djibo BAKARY, 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, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Joseph DIATTA
chancery :: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Charles O. CECIL (20 August 1996)
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 is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, | whose recent GDP growth has barely matched the rapid growth of | population.

22 fields

Real growth rate

(1996 est.)industrial production growth: 0.5% (1994 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

10.6%

(1995 est.)

Labor force

2.5million wage earners

(1982)by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%

Debt - external

$1.6billion

(1995 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(1995)

agriculture 41%industry 18%services 41% (1995)

Budget

Revenues

$200 millionExpenditures

$387 million (1997 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Economy - overview

Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose recent GDP growth has barely matched the rapid growth of population. The economy is centered on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its major export throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Terms of trade with Nigeria, Niger's largest regional trade partner, have improved dramatically since the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994; this devaluation boosted exports of livestock, peas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid for operating expenses and public investment and is strongly induced to adhere to structural adjustment programs designed by the IMF and the World Bank. The US terminated bilateral assistance to Niger after the coup of 1996. Other donors have reduced their aid.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $640 (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate

NA%

Industries

cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium mining

Electricity - capacity

105,000 kW (1991)

Electricity - production

230 million kWh (1991) note: imports about 200 million kW of electricity from Nigeria

Electricity - consumption per capita

53 kWh (1991 est.)

Agriculture - products

cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats

Exports

total value:: $247 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities:: uranium ore 67%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions
partners:: France 77%, Nigeria 8%, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Canada

Imports

total value :: $307 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
commodities:: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
partners:: France 23%, Cote d'Ivoire, China, Belgium-Luxembourg

Economic aid

recipient: ODA; bilateral donors: France, Japan, Germany, US

Currency

1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 541.69 (January 1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields

Fixed lines

14,000

(1991 est.)

Telephone 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 15, FM 6, shortwave 0

Radios

500,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

18 stations in a single network (1995)

Televisions

38,000 (1992 est.)

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m

total : 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1

Networkskm

Highways

9,863Railways

Highways: paved: 779 km · unpaved: 9,084 km (1995 est.)

Highways

total:: 9,863 km
paved:: 779 km
unpaved:: 9,084 km (1995 est.)

Military

Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican | Guard, National Police

7 fields

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.3%

(FY92/93)

Transnational Issues

1 field

Disputes - international

Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger;
demarcation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria NIGERIA

Central Intelligence Agency. “Niger.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/niger/1997.

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