General
Information
|
Total Land Area: |
1,267,000 km2 |
|
Land boundaries: |
5,697 km |
|
Coastline: |
0 km
(Landlocked) |
|
Capital: |
Niamey |
|
Other Large
Cities: |
Zinder, Tahoua,
Maradi, Agadez,
Tillaberi, Dosso,
Diffa |
|
Official
Language: |
French |
|
National
Currency Unit: |
Communauté
Financière
Africaine Franc
(XOF) |
|
National Day: |
December 18 and
August 3 |
Location and
Geography
Niger is located in
the heart of the
Sahel, the
transitional zone
between the tropical
West African coast
and the Sahara
Desert and is
bordered by Algeria
and Libya in the
North, Chad in the
East, Nigeria and
Benin in the South,
Burkina Faso in the
South-west, and Mali
in the West.
Northern Niger is
part of the Sahara,
with vast expanses
of rocky and sandy
wilderness broken by
occasional oases.
Its climate varies
with distinct
seasons and is
generally very hot.
During autumn, a
hot, dry wind
carries dust from
the Sahara. The
terrain consists of
desert plains, dunes
and flat to rolling
plains in the South
and hills in the
North.
Demography
|
Population:
|
11.60 million
(2002) |
|
Crude Birth
Rate:
|
49 per thousand
people (2002) |
|
Crude Death
Rate:
|
20 per thousand
people (2002) |
|
Infant Mortality
Rate:
|
155 per thousand
(2002) |
|
Life Expectancy:
|
Male: 46 years,
Female: 47 years
(2002) |
|
Urban
Population:
|
22.0 percent
(2002) |
|
Adult Literacy:
|
16.50 percent
(2001) |
Economy
Mining, particularly
extraction and
export of uranium is
one the main
economic activities
in Niger. The
uranium industry
generates most of
the employment and
income in the
country. Other major
natural resources
are coal, iron ore,
tin and phosphates.
The largest
enterprise is a
publicly owned
electric power
generation unit.
Hides, skin, cotton,
maize, sorghum,
cowpeas and cassava
are the main
agricultural
products. Recurrent
drought and
desertification have
a detrimental impact
on livestock
rearing.
Manufacturing is
concentrated in the
processing of
agricultural
commodities such as
sugar refining,
brewing and cotton
ginning.
|
GDP at Current
Market Prices:
|
1944 million US$
(2002) |
|
Per Capita GDP:
|
168 US$ (2002) |
|
Share of Sectors
in GDP:
|
40.0%
Agriculture,
17.0% Industry,
43.0% Services,
(2002) |
|
Total Exports:
|
156 million US$
(2002) |
|
Total Imports:
|
395 million US$
(2002) |
|
Major Exports
Items: |
Uranium ore,
livestock,
cowpeas, cotton
and onions |
|
Major Imports
Items: |
Consumer goods,
primary
materials,
machinery parts
and petroleum |
|
Major Trading
Partners: |
France, Nigeria,
Japan, Côte
d'Ivoire and
China |
|
