Background: 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. A coup in 1996 was followed by the creation of a National Reconciliation Council.

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total area total: 1.267 million km²
Land: 1,266,700 km²
Comparative: 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

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 km² (1989 est.)

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 9,280,208 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 3.4% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Nigerien(s)
Adjective: Nigerien

Ethnic groups: 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

Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma

Religions: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians

Age structure
0-14 years: 49% (female 2,275,338; male 2,275,999)
15-64 years: 49% (female 2,314,857; male 2,188,938)
65 years and over: 2% (female 107,432; male 117,644) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.4% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 54.8 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 20.8 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Environment
Current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction
Current issues natural hazards: recurring droughts
Current issues international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Infant mortality rate: 109.3 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 45.07 years
Male: 43.42 years
Female: 46.77 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.35 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988)
Total population: 11%
Male: 17%
Female: 5%

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Niger
Conventional short form: Niger
Local long form: Republique du Niger
Local short form: Niger

Government 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); election last held 17 March 1993 (next to be held NA February 1998)
Head of government: Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 21 February 1995)
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 12 January 1995 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (83 total) MNSD-NASSARA 29, CDS 24, PNDS 12, ANDP-Z 9, UDFP 3, UDPS 2, PADN 2, PPN-RDA 1, UPDP 1

Judicial branch: State Court (Cour d'Etat), Court of Appeal (Cour d'Apel)

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Adamou SEYDOU
In the us chancery: 2,204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-4,224 through 4,227
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John S. DAVISON
From the us embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey
From the us mailing address: B. P. 11,201, Niamey
From the us telephone: [227] 72 26 61 through 72 26 64
From the us FAX: [227] 73 31 67

Flag description: 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 is one of the world's poorest countries, with GDP growth lagging behind the rapid growth of population. The economy is centered on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its major export throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Uranium revenues dropped by almost 50% between 1983 and 1990 with the end of the uranium boom. 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.

Real gdp growth rate: 1.4% (1993 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $550 (1994 est.)

Agriculture products: 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

Industries: cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium mining began in 1971

Industrial production growth rate: -2.7% (1992 est.), accounts for 15% of GDP

Labor force: 2.5 million wage earners (1982)
By occupation agriculture: 90%
By occupation industry and commerce: 6%
By occupation government: 4%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $188 million
Expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $125 million (1993 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 October - 30 September

Exports: $246 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodoties: uranium ore 67%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions
Partners: France 77%, Nigeria 8%, Cote d'Ivoire, Italy

Imports: $286 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
Commodoties: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals
Partners: France 23%, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Italy, Japan

Debt external: $1.2 billion (December 1991 est.)

Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990)
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

Electricity
Capacity: 60,000 kW
Production: 200 million kWh
Production consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1992)

Telephone system: 14,260 telephones; small system of wire, radiocommunications, and radio relay links concentrated in southwestern area
Local: NA
Intercity: wire, radiocommunications, and radio relay; 3 domestic satellite links, with 1 planned
International: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth stations

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $32 million, 1.3% of GDP (FY92/93)

Airports: 29
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16

Waterways: Niger River is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March

Disputes international: Libya claims about 19,400 km² 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