Burma (2005) | Niger (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State |
8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (commune urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 5,967,487/female 5,717,795)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 14,448,887/female 14,641,419) 65 years and over: 5% (male 939,092/female 1,194,784) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.3% (male 2,811,539/female 2,704,498)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 2,890,119/female 3,009,281) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 130,953/female 119,547) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 78 (2004 est.) | 27 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 69
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. In December 2004, the junta announced it was extending her detention for at least an additional year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed. | 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. Coups in 1996 and 1999 were followed by the creation of a National Reconciliation Council that effected a transition to civilian rule by December 1999. 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 | 18.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 48.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $474.9 million
expenditures: $955.5 million, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon) | Niamey |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Union of Burma
conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Death rate | 12.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.752 billion (2004 est.) | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881 FAX: [95] (1) 256 018 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Gail Dennise Thomas MATHIEU
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 72 26 61 through 72 26 64 FAX: [227] 73 31 67, 72-31-46 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: vacant
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph DIATTA
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
Disputes - international | over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups with substantial numbers of kin beyond its borders; despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; ethnic Karens flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops, in 2004 Thailand sheltered about 118,000 Burmese refugees; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand continue to voice concern over China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists from hiding in remote Burmese uplands | Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger |
Economic aid - recipient | $127 million (2001 est.) | $341 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls, inefficient economic policies, and abject rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled and some of the liberalization measures have been rescinded. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including inflation and multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 legislative elections. Economic sanctions against Burma by the United States - including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons in response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy - further slowed the inflow of foreign exchange. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the size of the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, a better investment climate and an improved political situation are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country's 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit. | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, 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 3.3% 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. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.484 billion kWh (2003) | 327.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2004) | 80 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 5.068 billion kWh (2003) | 266.2 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | 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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
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 | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | 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 | kyats per US dollar - 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001), 6.4257 (2000)
note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004) cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none |
chief of state: President TANDJA Mamadou (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President TANDJA Mamadou (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: 27-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; second round last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: TANDJA Mamadou reelected president; percent of vote - TANDJA Mamadou 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
Exports | 3,356 bbl/day (2003) | NA |
Exports - commodities | clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | Thailand 37.8%, India 11.7%, China 6%, Japan 5.3% (2004) | France 41%, Nigeria 22.4%, Japan 15.3%, Switzerland 6%, Spain 4.1%, Ghana 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 7 administrative divisions and 7 states | 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: 56.6%
industry: 8.8% services: 34.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.3% (2004 est.) | 3.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium (estimated production in 2004 - 292 metric tons, down 40% from 2003 due to eradication efforts and drought; cultivation in 2004 - 30,900 hectares, a 34% decline from 2003); lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls (2005) | - |
Imports | 49,230 bbl/day (2003) | NA |
Imports - commodities | fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | China 29.8%, Singapore 20.8%, Thailand 19.3%, South Korea 5.2%, Malaysia 4.8% (2004) | France 14.4%, US 10.3%, French Polynesia 9.4%, Nigeria 7.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.5%, Japan 5.2%, China 5.1%, Thailand 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA (2001 est.) |
Industries | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | total: 67.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 73.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 61.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 121.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 125.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 117.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.2% (2004 est.) | 3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) | 660 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 27.01 million (2004 est.) | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.) | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% |
Land boundaries | total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 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: 15.19%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 83.84% (2001) |
arable land: 3.54%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 96.45% (2001) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60 |
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 17, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, Party for Socialism and Democracy in Niger 1, other 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.7 years
male: 57.8 years female: 63.78 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 43.5 years
male: 43.54 years female: 43.45 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 429,144 GRT/659,622 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 19, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 3, roll on'roll off 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 4, Japan 5, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
- |
Military branches | Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005) | Niger Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97) | $33.3 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97) | 1.1% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (pro-government) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties | Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ANDP [leader NA]; Democratic Rally of the People-Jama'a or RDP-Jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]; Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [TANDJA Mamadou, chairman]; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya or PNDS-Tarayya [Mahamadou ISSOUFOU]; Party for Socialism and Democracy in Niger [leader NA]; Rally for Social Democracy or RSD [Cheiffou AMADOU]; Union of Democratic Patriots and Progressives-Chamoua or UPDP-Chamoua [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-government, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary] | NA |
Population | 42,909,464
note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
11,665,937 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2000 est.) | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.42% (2005 est.) | 2.63% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (2004) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Railways | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair
domestic: NA international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat |
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 | 357,300 (2003) | 22,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 66,500 (2003) | 24,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2004 est.) | NA (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 12,800 km (2004) | 300 km
note: Niger River is navigable to Gaya between September and March (2004) |