Niger ( Republique du Niger) is a country in Western Africa, southeast of Algeria. Niger geographic coordinates 16 00 N, 8 00 E; area 1,266,700 sq km; area comparative slightly less than twice the size of Texas; land boundaries Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km; coastline 0 km (landlocked); maritime claims none (landlocked); climate desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south; terrain predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north; elevation extremes Mont Bagzane 2,022 m; natural resources uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum; land use 96.45% (2001); irrigated land 660 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards recurring droughts; environment current issues overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction; environment international agreements Law of the Sea; geography note 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;

introduction

Not until 1993, 33 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. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. government type republic; capital Niamey; administrative divisions 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (commune urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder; independence 3 August 1960 (from France); national holiday Republic Day, 18 December (1958); constitution a new constitution was adopted 18 July 1999; legal system based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Niger population 11,665,937 (July 2005 est.); age structure 2.1% (male 130,953/female 119,547) (2005 est.); median age 16.72 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.63% (2005 est.); birth rate 48.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 21.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 125.93 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 41.8 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 6.75 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 1.2% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 70,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths 4,800 (2003 est.); major infectious diseases mening; nationality Nigerien; ethnic groups Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200 French expatriates; religions Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian; languages French (official), Hausa, Djerma; literacy 9.7% (2003 est.);

Regions

Cities