Akrotiri (2006) | Niger (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 46.9% (male 3,083,871/female 2,969,201)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 3,354,783/female 3,174,039) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 155,430/female 157,541) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | - | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999 BARE was killed in a coup by military officers who promptly restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004. 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. |
Birth rate | - | 50.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $320 million (includes $134 million from foreign sources)
expenditures: $320 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Death rate | - | 20.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $2.1 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernadette M. ALLEN
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 20-73-31-69 FAX: [227] 20-73-55-60 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Aminata Djibrilla Maiga TOURE
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
Disputes - international | - | Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute in the Tommo region; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $515.4 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. It is a landlocked, Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, and a 2.9% population growth rate, have undercut the economy. Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund program for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. In December 2005, Niger received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately US $86 million in debts to the IMF, excluding the remaining assistance under HIPC. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have increased sharply in the last few years. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigeriens. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 437.7 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 220 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 234.1 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | - | Haoussa 55.4%, Djerma Sonrai 21%, Touareg 9.3%, Peuhl 8.5%, Kanouri Manga 4.7%, other 1.2% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); Prime Minister Seyni OUMAROU (since 3 June 2007) was appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president cabinet: 26-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); second round of election last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | - | France 34.8%, US 26.6%, Nigeria 18.3%, Russia 11.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | 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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | - | US 14%, France 12%, China 7.8%, Nigeria 7.7%, French Polynesia 7.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.9% (2006) |
Independence | - | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | - | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 116.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 120.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 112.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 0.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | - | 730 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | - | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 5,697 km
border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
Languages | English, Greek | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral National Assembly (113 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MNSD 47, PNDS 25, CDS 22, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, PSDN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 44.03 years
male: 44.05 years female: 44 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.7% male: 42.9% female: 15.1% (2005 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | - |
Military branches | - | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Niger Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.3% (2006) |
National holiday | - | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | - | noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | - | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | - | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | - | -0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Hama AMADOU]; Niger Social Democratic Party or PSDN; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Autonomy or PNA-Alouma'a [Sanousi JACKOU]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Issifou MAHAMADOU]; Nigerien Progressive Party or PPN-RDA [Abdoulaye DIORI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP-jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]; Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Coalition Against a High Cost of Living [Nouhou ARZIKA] |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
12,894,865 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 2.898% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Religions | - | Muslim 80%, other (includes indigenous beliefs and Christian) 20% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.057 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.987 male(s)/female total population: 1.047 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger
domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned international: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 24,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 323,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | - | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | - | 7.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |
Waterways | - | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |