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

lowest point:

Niger River 200 m

highest point:

Idoukal-n-Taghes 2,022 m

• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• deforestation;
• desertification;
• contaminated water;
• inadequate potable water;
• 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:

0.97 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.92 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

respiratory diseases:

meningococcal meningitis

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"

note: pronounced nee-zher

name:

Niamey

geographic coordinates:

13 31 N, 2 07 E

time difference:

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

etymology:

according to tradition, the site was originally a fishing village named after a prominent local tree referred to as "nia niam"

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 cannot be amended;
• amended 2011

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)

elections:

last held on 21 February 2016 (next to be held on 27 December 2020)

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;
• composition - men 146, women 24 percent of women 14.6%

highest courts:

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 Eric P. WHITAKER (since 26 January 2018)

telephone:

[227] 20-72-26-61

embassy:

BP 11201, Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey

mailing address:

2420 Niamey Place, Washington DC 20521-2420

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:

79.2%

industry:

3.3%

services:

17.5% (2012 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.2%

highest 10%:

26.8% (2014)

• 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

total:

18,949 km (2010)

paved:

3,912 km (2010)

unpaved:

15,037 km (2010)

total:

1

by type:

general cargo 1 (2019)

• Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN):
  • Army,
  • Nigerien Air Force,
  • Niger Gendarmerie (GN)
  ;
• Ministry of Interior: Niger National Guard (GNN), National Police (includes the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, which is charged with border management) (2020)

note: the Gendarmerie is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and has primary responsibility for rural security; the National Guard is responsible for domestic security and the protection of high-level officials and government buildings

• size estimates for the Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN) vary;
• approximately 10,000 active troops (est. 6,000 Army; 200 Air Force; 3,500 Gendarmerie);
• est. 3,000 National Guard (2019)

• the FAN's inventory consists of a wide variety of foreign-supplied weapons, including
  • Chinese,
  • French,
  • German,
  • Russian,
  • and US
  ;
• since 2015, the FAN has received limited amounts of equipment from China, France, Russia, Sweden, and the US, some of which were donations (2019 est.)

• 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)

• Boko Haram;
• Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in the Greater Sahara;
• Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham – West Africa;
• Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin;
• al-Mulathamun Battalion (al-Mourabitoun) (2020)

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T

• 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):

168,081 (Nigeria), 58,702 (Mali) (2020)

IDPs:

257,095 (includes the regions of Diffa, Tillaberi, and Tahoua; 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) (2020)