Niger

Republic of NigerRepublique du Niger

republicIndependence 3 August 1960 (from France)

Niger as the 1998 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

9.67 million July 1998 est. · 7.97m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.96% 1998 est. · 3.49% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 16.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

41.52 years 1998 est. · 44.15 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

7.3 children per woman 1998 est. · 7.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

114.39 deaths per 1,000 live births 1998 est. · 131 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$670 1997 est. · $290 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

4.5% 1997 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, gold, petroleum

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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:: Law of the Sea

People

15 fields

Population

9,671,848

(July 1998 est.)growth rate: 2.96% (1998 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1998 est.)

Birth

53.01Death

23.38Net migration

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1998 est.)41.52

41.83 · 41.21

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 2,374,482; female 2,277,176)
15-64 years:: 50% (male 2,345,773; female 2,447,951)
65 years and over:: 2% (male 119,644; female 106,822) (July 1998 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 (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate

114.39 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 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

Government

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

19 fields

Legislature, 83 seats, elected 23 November 1996one dot, one seat

UNIRD 59ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya 8UDPS-Amana 3coalition of independents 3MDP-Alkwali 1UPDP-Shamuwa 4DARAJA 3PMT-Albarka 2

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-the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government:: President Ibrahim BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996);
Prime Minister Ibrahim MAYAKI (since 27 November 1997) was appointed by the president;
note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
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 November 1996 (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'Appel

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, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, 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
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 economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, | reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its major export | since the 1970s.

28 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

-$6.3billion

purchasing power parity · (1997 est.)

GDP per capita, PPP

-$670

purchasing power parity · (1997 est.)

Real growth rate

4.5%

(1997 est.)industrial production growth: 0.5% (1994 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

5.3%

(1996)

GDP-composition by sector(1996)

agriculture 41%industry 18%services 41% (1996)

Budget

Revenues

$370 million (including $160 million from foreign sources)Expenditures

$370 million (1998 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $186 million

Fixed lines

14,000

(1991 est.)

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, its major export since the 1970s. Terms of trade with Nigeria, Niger's largest regional trade partner, have improved dramatically since the 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January 1994;

this devaluation boosted exports of livestock, cowpeas, 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.

Labor force

total:: 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries
by occupation:: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%

Unemployment rate

NA%

Industries

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

Electricity-capacity

63,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production

170 million kWh (1995) note: imports about 200 million kWh of electricity from Nigeria

Electricity-consumption per capita

40 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products

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

Exports

total value:: $188 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities:: uranium ore 67%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions
partners:: France 41%, Nigeria 22%, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Japan 18%

Imports

total value:: $374 million (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities:: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
partners:: France 24%, Nigeria 19%, Cote d'Ivoire, China, Belgium-Luxembourg

Debt-external

$1.3 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid

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

Currency

1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1-608.36 (January 1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993) 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

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 lengthunpaved only

under 914 m

total: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14

Networkskm

Highways

10,100Railways

Highways: paved: 798 km · unpaved: 9,302 km (1996 est.)

Highways

total:: 10,100 km
paved:: 798 km
unpaved:: 9,302 km (1996 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 led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria NIGERIA

Central Intelligence Agency. “Niger.” The World Factbook 1998. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/niger/1998.

How to cite ← 1997 edition 1999 edition →