Niger

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

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

total:

2.18 cu km/yr (4%/0%/95%)

per capita:

156 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

• 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

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.98 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

noun:

Nigerien(s)

adjective:

Nigerien

conventional long form:

Republic of Niger

conventional short form:

Niger

local long form:

Republique du Niger

local short form:

Niger

name:

Niamey

geographic coordinates:

13 31 N, 2 07 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Seyni OUMAROU (since 3 June 2007); appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president

cabinet:

26-member Cabinet appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• second round of election last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)

election results:

Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5%

• Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE];
• National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Hama AMADOU];
• Niger Social Democratic Party or PSDN;
• Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni DJERMAKOYE];
• Nigerien Party for Autonomy or PNA-Alouma'a [Sanousi JACKOU];
• Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Issifou MAHAMADOU];
• Nigerien Progressive Party or PPN-RDA [Abdoulaye DIORI];
• Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP-jama'a [Hamid ALGABID];
• Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Aminata Djibrilla Maiga TOURE

chancery:

2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227

FAX:

[1] (202)483-3169

chief of mission:

Ambassador Bernadette M. ALLEN

embassy:

Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey

mailing address:

B. P. 11201, Niamey

telephone:

[227] 20-72-26-61 thru 64

FAX:

[227] 20-73-31-67

• 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

agriculture:

90%

industry:

6%

services:

4% (1995)

lowest 10%:

0.8%

highest 10%:

35.4% (1995)

total:

18,550 km

paved:

3,803 km

unpaved:

14,747 km (2006)

• 17-21 years of age for voluntary military service;
• 2-year service term;
• women may serve in health care (2008)

males age 16-49:

2,871,868

females age 16-49:

2,696,966 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,665,108

females age 16-49:

1,548,965 (2008 est.)

male:

150,728

female:

143,379 (2008 est.)

• Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute in the Tommo region;
• much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated;
• only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries

current situation:

• Niger is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation;
• caste-based slavery practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continue in isolated areas of the country - an estimated 8,800 to 43,000 Nigeriens live under conditions of traditional slavery;
• children are trafficked within Niger for forced begging, forced labor in gold mines, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and possibly for forced labor in agriculture and stone quarries;
• women and children from neighboring states are trafficked to and through Niger for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, forced labor in mines and on farms, and as mechanics and welders

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Niger is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking in 2007;
• in particular, measures to combat and eliminate traditional slavery practices were weak;
• the government's overall law enforcement efforts have stalled from 2006;
• while efforts to protect child trafficking victims were steady, the government failed to provide services to or rescue adult victims subjected to traditional slavery practices, and made poor efforts to educate the public about traditional slavery practices in general (2008)