Niger




                                 Geography


Location:
     Western Africa, between Algeria and Nigeria
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     1.267 million sq km
land area:
     1,266,700 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
     total 5,697 km, Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina 628 km, Chad
     1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km
Coastline:
     0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
     none; landlocked
International disputes:
     Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger; demarcation of
     international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to
     border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification
     by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; Burkina and Mali are proceeding
     with boundary demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
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
Natural resources:
     uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates
Land use:
arable land:
     3%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     7%
forest and woodland:
     2%
other:
     88%
Irrigated land:
     320 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife
     populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, and lion) threatened
     because of poaching and habitat destruction
natural hazards:
     recurrent droughts




international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear
     Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
     Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note:
     landlocked


                                  People


Population:
     8,971,605 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     3.36% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     54.95 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     21.32 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     111 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     44.61 years
male:
     43.01 years
female:
     46.26 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     7.35 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Nigerien(s)
adjective:
     Nigerien
Ethnic divisions:
     Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%,
     Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 4,000 French expatriates
Religions:
     Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians
Languages:
     French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     28%
male:
     40%
female:
     17%
Labor force:
     2.5 million wage earners (1982)
by occupation:
     agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%




note:
     51% of population of working age (1985)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Niger
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republique du Niger
local short form:
Digraph:
     NG
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Niamey
Administrative divisions:
     7 departments (departements, singular - departement); Agadez, Diffa,
     Dosso, Maradi, Niamey, Tahoua, Zinder
Independence:
     3 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
     Republic Day, 18 December (1958)
Constitution:
     approved by national referendum 16 December 1992; promulgated January
     1993
Legal system:
     based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted
     compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President Mahamane OUSMANE (since 16 April  1993)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Mahamadou ISSOUFOU (since 17 April 1993)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime
     minister
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
National Assembly:
     elected by proportional representation for 5 year terms; elections
     last held 14 February 1993 (next election NA 1998); seats - (83 total)
     MNSD 29, CDS 22, PNDS 13, ANDP-Z 11, UPDP 2, PPN/RDA 2, UDFP 2, PSDN
     1, UDPS 1
Judicial branch:
     State Court (Cour d'Etat), Court of Appeal (Cour d'Apel)




Political parties and leaders:
     National Movement of the Development Society (MNSD-NASSARA), Kada
     LABO, General Secretary; Democratic and Social Convention - Rahama
     (CDS- Rahama), Mahamane OUSMANE; Nigerien Party for Democracy and
     Socialism (PNDS), Mahamadou ISSOUFOU; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy
     and Progress - Zamanlahia (ANDP-Z), Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE; Union
     of Patriots, Democrats, and Progressives (UPDP), Andre SALIFOU; Niger
     Progressive Party - African Democratic Rally (PPN-RDA), Harou KOUKA;
     Niger Social Democrat Party (PADN), Malam Adji WAZIRI; Union for
     Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Akoli DAOUEL
Member of:
     ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT,
     IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
     IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB,
     WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Adamou SEYDOU
chancery:
     2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 483-4224 through 4227
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador John DAVISON
embassy:
     Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey
mailing address:
     B. P. 11201, Niamey
telephone:
     [227] 72-26-61 through 64
FAX:
     [227] 73-31-67
Flag:
     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


                                  Economy


Overview:
     Niger's economy is centered on subsistence agriculture, animal
     husbandry, and re-export trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its
     major export throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Uranium revenues dropped
     by almost 50% between 1983 and 1990. Terms of trade with Nigeria,
     Niger's largest regional trade partner, have improved dramatically
     since the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994; this
     devaluation boosted exports of livestock, peas, onions, and the
     products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on
     bilateral and multilateral aid for operating expenses and public
     investment, and is strongly induced to adhere to structural adjustment
     programs designed by the IMF and the World Bank.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $5.4 billion (1993 est.)




National product real growth rate:
     1.9% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
     $650 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     1.3% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     NA%
Budget:
revenues:
     $193 million
expenditures:
     $355 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1991
     est.)
Exports:
     $294 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
     uranium ore 60%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions
partners:
     France 77%, Nigeria 8%, Cote d'Ivoire, Italy
Imports:
     $346 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
     primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, electronic
     equipment, cereals, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemical
     products, foodstuffs
partners:
     Germany 26%, Cote d'Ivoire 11%, France 5%, Italy 4%, Nigeria 2%
External debt:
     $1.2 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -2.7% (1991 est.); accounts for 13% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     105,000 kW
production:
     230 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     30 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses,
     and a few other small light industries; uranium mining began in 1971
Agriculture:
     accounts for roughly 40% of GDP and 90% of labor force; cash crops -
     cowpeas, cotton, peanuts; food crops - millet, sorghum, cassava, rice;
     livestock - cattle, sheep, goats; self-sufficient in food except in
     drought years
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $380 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
     $3.165 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $504 million; Communist
     countries (1970-89), $61 million
Currency:
     1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes




Exchange rates:
     Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 592.05
     (January 1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26
     (1990), 319.01 (1989)
note:
     the official rate is pegged to the French franc, and beginning 12
     January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc
     from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year:
     1 October - 30 September


                              Communications


Highways:
total:
     39,970 km
paved:
     bituminous 3,170 km
unpaved:
     gravel, laterite 10,330 km; earth 3,470 km; tracks 23,000 km
Inland waterways:
     Niger River is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin
     frontier from mid-December through March
Airports:
total:
     30
usable:
     28
with permanent-surface runways:
     9
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     14
Telecommunications:
     small system of wire, radiocommunications, and radio relay links
     concentrated in southwestern area; 14,260 telephones; broadcast
     stations - 15 AM, 5 FM, 18 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic
     Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 3 domestic, with 1
     planned


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Police, Republican Guard
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,845,374; fit for military service 994,683; reach
     military age (18) annually 91,595 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $27 million, 1.3% of GDP (1989)