Republic of Niger

National name: République du Niger

President: Tandja Mamadou (1999)

Prime Minister: Hama Amadou (1999)

Land area: 489,072 sq mi (1,266,699 sq km); total area: 489,191 sq mi (1,267,000 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 12,525,094 (growth rate: 2.9%); birth rate: 50.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 118.2/1000; life expectancy: 43.8; density per sq mi: 26

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Niamey, 748,600

Other large cities: Zinder, 202,300; Maradi, 189,000

Monetary unit: CFA Franc

Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma

Ethnicity/race: 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: Islam 80%, indigenous beliefs and Christian 20%

Literacy rate: 18% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $10.22 billion; per capita $800. Real growth rate: 3.8%. Inflation: 0.2% (2004 est.). Unemployment: n.a. (2002 est.). Arable land: 11%. Agriculture: cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry. Labor force: 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.); agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%. Industries: uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses. Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum. Exports: $222 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions. Imports: $588 million f.o.b. (2004 est.): foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals. Major trading partners: France, Nigeria, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Ghana, U.S., French Polynesia, Côte d'Ivoire, China, Thailand (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 20,000 (2001); mobile cellular: 6,700 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001). Radios: 680,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002). Televisions: 125,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2002). Internet users: 12,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 10,100 km; paved: 798 km; unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.). Waterways: the Niger is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March. Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 27 (2002).

International disputes: Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated but states accept 2001 arbitration over disputed Niger River islands; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias.


 

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