Antigua and Barbuda (2002) | Niger (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28% (male 9,618; female 9,293)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 22,695; female 22,682) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,289; female 1,871) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.9% (male 2,994,022/female 2,882,273)
15-64 years: 50.7% (male 3,262,114/female 3,083,522) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 150,982/female 152,181) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 28 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 443 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak and Carib Indians populated the islands when Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. | 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 | 18.84 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 50.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million; including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Saint John's | name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 153 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.91 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $231 million (1999) | $2.1 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernadette M. ALLEN
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 73 31 69 FAX: [227] 73 55 60 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
chief of mission: Ambassador Aminata Maiga Djibrilla TOURE
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
Disputes - international | none | Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; 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 | $2.3 million (1995) | $453.3 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. Weak tourist arrival numbers since early 2000 have slowed the economy, however, and pressed the government into a tight fiscal corner. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction work. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for about one-third of all tourist arrivals. | 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, a 2.9% population growth rate, and the drop in world demand for uranium 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, it was announced that Niger had received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately $86 million USD 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 recovered somewhat in the last few years. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigerians. |
Electricity - consumption | 93 million kWh (2000) | 263.9 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 50 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 100 million kWh (2000) | 230 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | 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 |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Robin YEARWOOD cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
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); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 31 December 1999) 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 last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
Exports | $40 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% | France 47.8%, Nigeria 21.4%, US 20.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band | 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 | purchasing power parity - $674 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 19% services: 77% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor | 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 |
Highways | total: 1,165 km
paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km note: it is assumed that the main roads are paved; the secondary roads are assumed to be unpaved (1995) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center | - |
Imports | $357 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% | France 14.5%, US 10.7%, French Polynesia 7.5%, Nigeria 7.4%, Italy 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, Germany 4.5%, China 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | 21.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 118.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 114.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.4% (2000 est.) | 0.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 730 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 30,000 | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) (1983) | agriculture: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 18.18%
permanent crops: 0% other: 81.82% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held prior to March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - ALP 53.2%, UPP 45.5%, independent 1.3%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
unicameral National Assembly (113 seats; note - expanded from 83 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNSD 47, CDS 22, PNDS 25, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, PSDN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.02 years
male: 68.72 years female: 73.45 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 43.76 years
male: 43.8 years female: 43.73 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 762 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,541,940 GRT/5,894,553 DWT
ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 469, chemical tanker 9, combination bulk 4, container 202, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 35 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 3, Colombia 1, Cuba 1, Estonia 1, Germany 747, Greece 1, Iceland 8, Latvia 1, Lebanon 2, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 22, New Zealand 2, Portugal 1, Slovenia 6, South Africa 1, Sweden 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 7 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (including the Coast Guard) | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $44.78 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | -6.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP, Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor Movement or PLM) | 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 | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | Coalition Against a High Cost of Living [Nouhou ARZIKA] |
Population | 67,448 (July 2002 est.) | 12,525,094 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.69% (2002 est.) | 2.92% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint John's | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 77 km
narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) (2001 est.) |
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Religions | Christian, (predominantly Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
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 | 28,000 (1996) | 24,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (1996) | 299,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 7.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |