Niger

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.

• desert;
• mostly hot, dry, dusty;
• tropical in extreme south

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

• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• deforestation;
• desertification;
• wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction

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

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.)

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.)

noun:

Nigerien(s)

adjective:

Nigerien

conventional long form:

Republic of Niger

conventional short form:

Niger

local short form:

Niger

local long form:

Republique du Niger

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

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%

• 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]

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

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

• 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

lowest 10%:

1%

highest 10%:

35% (1995) (1995)

• 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

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)

total:

10,100 km

paved:

798 km

unpaved:

9,302 km (1996)

• 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