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

mean elevation:

474 m

elevation extremes:

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.)

• 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 (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Niger

conventional short form:

Niger

local long form:

Republique du Niger

local short form:

Niger

etymology:

named for the Niger River that passes through the southwest of the country; from a native term "Ni Gir" meaning "River Gir"

name:

Niamey

geographic coordinates:

13 31 N, 2 07 E

time difference:

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

history:

several previous; passed by referendum 31 October 2010, entered into force 25 November 2010

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly;
• consideration of amendments requires at least three-fourths majority vote by the Assembly;
• passage requires at least four-fifths majority vote;
• if disapproved, the proposed amendment is dropped or submitted to a referendum;
• constitutional articles on the form of government, the multiparty system, the separation of state and religion, disqualification of Assembly members, amendment procedures, and amnesty of participants in the 2010 coup d’Etat cannot be amended;
• amended 2011 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Niger

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

unknown

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);
• election last held on 21 February 2016 with a runoff on 20 March 2016 (next to be held in 2021);
• prime minister appointed by the president, authorized by the National Assembly

election results:

• ISSOUFOU Mahamadou reelected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - ISSOUFOU Mahamadou (PNDS-Tarrayya) 48.6%, Hama AMADOU (MODEN/FA Lumana Africa) 17.8%, Seini OUMAROU (MNSD-Nassara) 11.3%, other 22.3%;
• percent of vote in second round - ISSOUFOU Mahamadou 92%, Hama AMADOU 8%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (171 seats; 158 members directly elected from 8 multi-member constituencies in 7 regions and Niamey by party-list proportional representation, 8 reserved for minorities elected in special single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 5 seats reserved for Nigeriens living abroad - l seat per continent - elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the number of National Assembly seats increased from 113 to 171 in the February 2016 legislative election

elections:

last held on 21 February 2016 (next to be held in 2021)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 44.1%, MODEN/FA Lumana 14.7%, MNSD-Nassara 11.8%, MPR-Jamhuriya 7.1%, MNRD Hankuri-PSDN Alheri 3.5%, MPN-Kishin Kassa 2.9%, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 2.4%, RSD-Gaskiya 2.4%, CDS-Rahama 1.8%, CPR-Inganci 1.8%, RDP-Jama'a 1.8%, AMEN AMIN 1.8%, other 3.9%;
• seats by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 75, MODEN/FA Lumana 25, MNSD-Nassara 20, MPR-Jamhuriya 12, MNRD Hankuri-PSDN Alheri 6, MPN-Kishin Kassa 5, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 4, RSD-Gaskiya 4, CDS-Rahama 3, CPR-Inganci 3, RDP-Jama'a 3, RDP-Jama'a 3, AMEN AMIN 3, other 8

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

• Alliance of Movements for the Emergence of Niger or AMEN AMIN [Omar Hamidou TCHIANA]
• Congress for the Republic or CPR-Inganci [Kassoum MOCTAR]
• Democratic Alliance for Niger or ADN-Fusaha [Habi Mahamadou SALISSOU]
• Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Abdou LABO]
• National Movement for the Development of Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Seini OUMAROU]
• 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 Movement for Democratic Renewal or MNRD-Hankuri [Mahamane OUSMANE]
• Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Mahamadou ISSOUFOU]
• Nigerien Patriotic Movement or MPN-Kishin Kassa [Ibrahim YACOUBA]
• Party for Socialism and Democracy in Niger or PSDN-Alheri
• Patriotic Movement for the Republic or MPR-Jamhuriya [Albade ABOUBA]
• Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a or RDP-Jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]
• Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Amadou CHEIFFOU]
• Social Democratic Party or PSD-Bassira [Mohamed BEN OMAR]
• 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:

87%

industry:

4%

services:

9% (2016 est.)

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 50 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) (2016)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

2; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 2

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

15,242

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

18,949 km

paved:

3,912 km

unpaved:

15,037 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 114

total:

2

by type:

oil tanker 1, other 1 (2017)

country comparison to the world: 163

• 18 is the 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 (2017)

• 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):

108,470 (Nigeria); 57,286 (Mali) (2017)

IDPs:

129,015 (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) (2017)