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

lowest point:

Niger River 200 m

highest point:

Idoukal-n-Taghes 2,022 m

agricultural land:

35.1%;

• arable land 12.3%;
• permanent crops 0.1%;
• permanent pasture 22.7%

forest:

1%

other:

63.9% (2011 est.)

total:

0.98 cu km/yr (30%/3%/67%)

per capita:

70.53 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

noun:

Nigerien(s)

adjective:

Nigerien

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.04 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

total number:

1,557,913

percentage:

43% (2006 est.)

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 ISSOUFOU Mahamadou (since 7 April 2011)

head of government:

Prime Minister Brigi RAFINI (since 7 April 2011)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• prime minister appointed by the president, authorized by the National Assembly

election results:

ISSOUFOU Mahamadou elected president; percent of vote in second round - ISSOUFOU Mahamadou (PNDS-Tarrayya) 58%, Seini OUMAROU (MNSD-Nassara) 42%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (113 seats; 105 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 8 directly elected in special single-seat constituencies for minorities by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 31 January 2011 (next to be held in 2016)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 33%, MNSD-Nassara 21%, MODEN/FA-Lumana 20%, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 7.5%, RDP-Jama'a 6.5%, UDR-Tabbat 5.4%, CDS-Rahama 3.3%, UNI 1%;
• seats by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 37, MNSD-Nassara 26, MODEN/FA-Lumana 25, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 8, RDP-Jama'a 7, UDR-Tabbat 6, CDS-Rahama 3, UNI 1

highest court(s):

Constitutional Court (consists of 7 judges); High Court of Justice (consists of 7 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Constitutional Court judges nominated/elected - 1 by the president of the Republic, 1 by the president of the National Assembly, 2 by peer judges, 2 by peer lawyers, 1 law professor by peers, and 1 from within Nigerien society;
• all appointed by the president;
• judges serve 6-year nonrenewable terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years;
• High Judicial Court members selected from among the legislature and judiciary;
• members serve 5-year terms

subordinate courts:

• Court of Cassation;
• Council of State;
• Court of Finances;
• various specialized tribunals and customary courts

• Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]
• National Movement for a Society of Development-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Seini OUMAROU]
• National Union of Independents or UNI [Amadou DJIBO ALI]
• Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moussa Moumouni DJERMAKOYE]
• Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation or MODEN/FA Lumana [Hama AMADOU]
• Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Mohamed BAZOUM]
• Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a or RDP-Jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]
• Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU]
• Union for Democracy and the Republic-Tabbat or UDR-Tabbat [Amadou Boubacar CISSE]

note: the SPLM and SPLM-DC are banned political parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Hassana ALIDOU (since 23 February 2015)

chancery:

2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227

FAX:

[1] (202) 483-3169

chief of mission:

Ambassador Eunice S. REDDICK (since 12 September 2014)

embassy:

BP 11201, Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey

mailing address:

2420 Niamey Place, Washington DC 20521-2420

telephone:

[227] 20-73-31-69 or [227] 20-72-39-41

FAX:

[227] 20-73-55-60

• three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk centered in the white band;
• the orange band denotes the drier northern regions of the Sahara;
• white stands for purity and innocence;
• green symbolizes hope and the fertile and productive southern and western areas, as well as the Niger River;
• the orange disc represents the sun and the sacrifices made by the people

note: similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band

name:

"La Nigerienne" (The Nigerien)

lyrics/music:

Maurice Albert THIRIET/Robert JACQUET and Nicolas Abel Francois FRIONNET

note: adopted 1961

agriculture:

90%

industry:

6%

services:

4% (1995)

lowest 10%:

3.7%

highest 10%:

28.5% (2007)

general assessment:

inadequate; small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in southwestern Niger

domestic:

• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains only about 30 per 100 persons despite a rapidly increasing cellular subscribership base;
• domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned

international:

country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2010)

• state-run TV station;
• 3 private TV stations provide a mix of local and foreign programming;
• state-run radio has only radio station with national coverage;
• about 30 private radio stations operate locally;
• as many as 100 community radio stations broadcast;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)

total:

18,949 km

paved:

3,912 km

unpaved:

15,037 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 114

• 18 is the presumed legal minimum age for compulsory or voluntary military service;
• enlistees must be Nigerien citizens and unmarried;
• 2-year service term;
• women may serve in health care (2012)

males age 16-49:

3,329,184

females age 16-49:

3,267,669 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,194,570

females age 16-49:

2,219,416 (2010 est.)

male:

186,348

female:

180,779 (2010 est.)

• Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute in the Tommo region;
• location of Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint is unresolved;
• only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty that also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries;
• the dispute with Burkina Faso was referred to the ICJ in 2010

refugees (country of origin):

105,583 (Nigeria); 52,332 (Mali) (2015)

IDPs:

66,400 (unknown how many of the 11,000 people displaced by clashes between government forces and the Tuareg militant group, Niger Movement for Justice, in 2007 are still displaced; inter-communal violence; Boko Haram attacks in southern Niger, 2015) (2015)