Kenya (2005) | Niger (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 7,252,075/female 7,124,034)
15-64 years: 55.2% (male 9,378,428/female 9,295,471) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 356,116/female 423,466) (2005 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 | tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 221 (2004 est.) | 28 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 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: 206
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 110 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. | 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. A predominately Tuareg ethnic group emerged in February 2007, the Nigerien Movement for Justice (MNJ), and attacked several military targets in Niger's northern region throughout 2007. Events have since evolved into a budding insurrection. |
Birth rate | 40.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 50.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.89 billion
expenditures: $3.443 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $320 million (includes $134 million from foreign sources)
expenditures: $320 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Nairobi | name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 536 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 December 1963; amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Death rate | 14.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 20.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.792 billion (2004 est.) | $2.1 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William M. BELLAMY
embassy: US Embassy, United Nations Ave., Gigiri; P. O. Box 606 Village Market Nairobi mailing address: Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (20) 537-800 FAX: [254] (20) 537-810 |
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 Leonard NGAITHE
chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829 consulate(s) general: 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 | Kenya served as an important mediator in brokering Sudan's north-south separation in February 2005; Kenya provides shelter to approximately a quarter of a million refugees including Ugandans who flee across the border periodically to seek protection from Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels; Kenya's administrative limits extend beyond the treaty border into the Sudan, creating the Ilemi Triangle | 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 | $453 million (1997) | $515.4 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, Kenya has been hampered by corruption and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000 compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.2% in 2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1.2%. Growth lagged at 1.1% in 2002 because of erratic rains, low investor confidence, meager donor support, and political infighting up to the elections. In the key 27 December 2002 elections, Daniel Arap MOI's 24-year-old reign ended, and a new opposition government took on the formidable economic problems facing the nation. In 2003, progress was made in rooting out corruption and encouraging donor support, with GDP growth edging up to 1.7%. GDP grew a moderate 2.2% in 2004. | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking near 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 | 4.337 billion kWh (2002) | 437.7 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 175 million kWh (2002) | 220 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 4.475 billion kWh (2002) | 234.1 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and fertilizers; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching | 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, 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 | Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1% | Haoussa 55.4%, Djerma Sonrai 21%, Touareg 9.3%, Peuhl 8.5%, Kanouri Manga 4.7%, other 1.2% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 79.174 (2004), 75.936 (2003), 78.749 (2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Moody AWORI (since 25 September 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff; election last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held December 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: President Mwai KIBAKI elected; percent of vote - Mwai KIBAKI 63%, Uhuru KENYATTA 30% |
chief of state: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Seyni OUMAROU (since 3 June 2007); appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president cabinet: 26-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); second round of election last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
Exports | NA | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | Uganda 13.3%, UK 11.4%, US 10.6%, Netherlands 8.2%, Egypt 4.9%, Tanzania 4.5%, Pakistan 4.3% (2004) | France 34.8%, US 26.6%, Nigeria 18.3%, Russia 11.3% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 19.3%
industry: 18.5% services: 62.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | 4.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 38 00 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value | 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: 63,942 km
paved: 7,737 km unpaved: 56,205 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa; significant potential for money-laundering activity given the country's status as a regional financial center; massive corruption, and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities | - |
Imports | NA | 5,412 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | UAE 12.6%, Saudi Arabia 9.1%, South Africa 8.8%, US 7.7%, India 7.2%, UK 6.7%, China 6.4%, Japan 5% (2004) | US 14.1%, France 12.1%, China 7.8%, Nigeria 7.7%, French Polynesia 7.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.9% (2006) |
Independence | 12 December 1963 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.6% (2004 est.) | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products; oil refining, aluminum, steel, lead, cement; commercial ship repair, tourism | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | total: 61.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 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) | 9% (2004 est.) | 0.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, EADB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1998 est.) | 730 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 11.4 million (2004 est.) | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75% (2003 est.) | agriculture: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 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: 8.08%
permanent crops: 0.98% other: 90.94% (2001) |
arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | based on Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991 | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called "nominated" members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members)
elections: last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held by early 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NARC 125, KANU 64, FORD-P 14, other 7; ex-officio 2; seats appointed by the president - NARC 7, KANU 4, FORD-P 1 |
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: 47.99 years
male: 48.87 years female: 47.09 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 44.03 years
male: 44.05 years female: 44 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.1% male: 90.6% female: 79.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 28.7% male: 42.9% female: 15.1% (2005 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,049 GRT/7,082 DWT
by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 6 (2005) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Niger Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $177.1 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (2004) | 1.3% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to UNHCR, by the end of 2001 Kenya was host to 220,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including: Somalia 145,000 and Sudan 68,000 (2005 est.) |
-0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 752 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Kimaniwa NYOIKE, chairman]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA]; National Rainbow Coalition or NARC [Mwai KIBAKI] - the governing party | 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 | human rights groups; labor unions; Muslim organizations; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations [Kivutha KIBWANA]; Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK [Mutava MUSYIMI]; Roman Catholic and other Christian churches; Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY] | The Nigerien Movement for Justice or MNJ, a predominantly Tuareg rebel group demanding concessions including a greater share of the country's uranium revenues from the government |
Population | 33,829,590
note: estimates for this country explicitly 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 and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
12,894,865 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2000 est.) | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.56% (2005 est.) | 2.898% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mombasa | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Railways | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, indigenous beliefs 10%, Muslim 10%, other 2%
note: a large majority of Kenyans are Christian, but estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely |
Muslim 80%, other (includes indigenous beliefs and Christian) 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 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: unreliable; little attempt to modernize except for service to business
domestic: trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system international: country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat |
general assessment: inadequate; small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is less than 3 per 100 persons; 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 | 328,400 (2003) | 24,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,590,800 (2003) | 323,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2002) | 5 (2007) |
Terrain | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 4.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 7.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004) | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |