Japan (2002) | Niger (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (commune urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.5% (male 9,465,282; female 8,999,888)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 43,027,320; female 42,586,112) 65 years and over: 18% (male 9,664,112; female 13,231,914) (2002 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, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 173 (2001) | 27 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 141
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 32 (2002) |
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: 31 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 27 (2002) |
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | While retaining its time-honored culture, Japan rapidly absorbed Western technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After its devastating defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become the second most powerful economy in the world and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth. | 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 | 10.03 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 48.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $441 billion
expenditures: $718 billion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $84 billion |
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Tokyo | Niamey |
Climate | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 29,751 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 3 May 1947 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Currency | yen (JPY) | - |
Death rate | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 205, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
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: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
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 | islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with South Korea; Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) claimed by China and Taiwan | 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 - donor | ODA, $9.1 billion (1999) (1999) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $341 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) have helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and third largest economy in the world after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s largely because of the aftereffects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000-02 by the slowing of the US and Asian economies. The crowding of habitable land area and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength, with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots". Internal conflict over the proper means to reform the ailing banking system will continue in 2003. | 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 | 943.71 billion kWh (2000) | 327.6 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 80 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.015 trillion kWh (2000) | 266.2 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 61%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 29% other: 2% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Fujiyama 3,776 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914) (2000) | 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 | yen per US dollar - 132.66 (January 2002), 121.53 (2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997) | 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: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 24 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the Diet designates the prime minister; the constitution requires that the prime minister must command a parliamentary majority, therefore, following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition in the House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister note: following the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshiro MORI, Junichiro KOIZUMI was elected as the new president of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, and soon thereafter designated by the Diet to become the next prime minister |
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 | $383.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | US 30.1%, China 7.7%, South Korea 6.3%, Taiwan 6.0%, Hong Kong 5.8% (2001) | 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 | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center | 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 - $3.55 trillion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 31% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.3% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 36 00 N, 138 00 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in northeast Asia | 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 | 15 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 1,152,207 km
paved: 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways) unpaved: 289,204 km (1997 est.) |
total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 22% (1993) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Imports | $292.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles (2001) | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | US 18.1%, China 16.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Taiwan 4.1%, Indonesia 4.3% (2001 est.) | 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 | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.4% (2002 est.) | NA (2001 est.) |
Industries | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals; textiles, processed foods | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) | -0.9% (2002 est.) | 3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 73 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) | 660 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 67.7 million (December 2000 ) | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 70%, industry 25%, agriculture 5% (2002 est.) | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 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: 12.13%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 86.86% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 3.54%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 96.45% (2001) |
Languages | Japanese | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (247 seats - formerly 252; one-half of the members elected every three years - 73 seats of which are elected from the 47 multi-seat prefectural districts and 48 of which are elected from a single nationwide list; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - 180 of which are elected from 11 regional blocks on a proportional representation basis and 300 of which are elected from 300 single-seat districts; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held NA July 2004); House of Representatives - last held 25 June 2000 (next must be held by June 2004, but may occur sooner) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 110, DPJ 59, Komeito 23, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, Conservative Party 5, independents 14; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 115, DPJ 60, Komeito 24, JCP 20, SDP 8, Liberal Party 8, independents 6, others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LDP 233, DPJ 127, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, other 28; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: LDP 242, DPJ 126, Komeito 31, Liberal Party 22, JCP 20, SDP 19, NCP 7, other 13 |
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: 80.91 years
male: 77.73 years female: 84.25 years (2002 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: 99% (1970 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 615 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,995,839 GRT/14,405,159 DWT
ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 48, chemical tanker 17, combination bulk 24, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 50, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 189, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 48, short-sea passenger 6, vehicle carrier 54 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 1, Panama 1, Singapore 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Japanese Coast Guard | Niger Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $40,774.3 million (FY01) | $33.3 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 1.1% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 29,644,498 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 25,637,387 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 765,817 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | negligible mineral resources, fish | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 84 km; petroleum products 322 km; natural gas 1,800 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Yukio HATOYAMA, leader, Naoto KAN, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Tetsuzo FUWA, chairman, Tadayeshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president, Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president, Taku YAMASAKI, secretary general]; Liberal Party [Ichiro OZAWA, president, Hirohisa FUJII, secretary general]; New Conservative Party or NCP [Takeshi NODA, president, Toshihiro NIKAI, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Takako DOI, chairperson, Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, secretary general] | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 126,974,628 (July 2002 est.) | 11,665,937 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.15% (2002 est.) | 2.63% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 120.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 23,654 km (15,895 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,059 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (entirely electrified); 20,491 km 1.067-m gauge (12,732 km electrified); 27 km 0.762-m gauge (entirely electrified) (2000) |
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Religions | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 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 | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
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 | 60.381 million (1997) | 22,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 63.88 million (2000) | 24,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.42 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.4% (2002) | NA (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 1,770 km approximately
note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas |
300 km
note: Niger River is navigable to Gaya between September and March (2004) |