Barbados (2001) | Niger (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.68% (male 30,122; female 29,572) 15-64 years: 69.44% (male 93,283; female 97,915) 65 years and over: 8.88% (male 9,432; female 15,006) (2001 est.) |
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 | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
430 sq km land: 430 sq km water: 0 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 island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Its economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | 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 | 13.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 50.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$725.5 million expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.) |
revenues: $320 million (includes $134 million from foreign sources)
expenditures: $320 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | 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; rainy season (June to October) | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 97 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | - |
Death rate | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $425 million (2000 est.) | $2.1 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James A. DALEY embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246 |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KING chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
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 | none | 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 | $9.1 million (1995) | $515.4 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The start of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown helped the tourism industry continue to expand in 1996-2000. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. Growth should remain steady in 2001, with new tourist facilities a plus factor. | 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 | 667.7 million kWh (1999) | 437.7 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 220 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 718 million kWh (1999) | 234.1 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | 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:
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
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 80%, white 4%, other 16% | Haoussa 55.4%, Djerma Sonrai 21%, Touareg 9.3%, Peuhl 8.5%, Kanouri Manga 4.7%, other 1.2% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | 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), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed 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); 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 | $260 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998) | France 34.8%, US 26.6%, Nigeria 18.3%, Russia 11.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | 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 - $4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 16% services: 80% (1998) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | 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:
1,600 km paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (1998) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US | - |
Imports | $800.3 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998) | US 14%, France 12%, China 7.8%, Nigeria 7.7%, French Polynesia 7.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.9% (2006) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.8% (1996) | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | 12.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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) | 2% (2000 est.) | 0.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 730 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 136,000 (1998 est.) | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% (1995) |
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:
37% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 12% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
Languages | English | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2 |
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:
73.25 years male: 70.66 years female: 75.86 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 44.03 years
male: 44.05 years female: 44 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.7% male: 42.9% female: 15.1% (2005 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 671,545 GRT/1,125,635 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 28, combination bulk 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Hong Kong 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Niger Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.3% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
78,069 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
53,576 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun:
Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial) adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] | 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 | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | Coalition Against a High Cost of Living [Nouhou ARZIKA] |
Population | 275,330 (July 2001 est.) | 12,894,865 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.46% (2001 est.) | 2.898% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Muslim 80%, other (includes indigenous beliefs and Christian) 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.01 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
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 | 108,000 (1997) | 24,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 323,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 3 (plus 7 repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 7.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |