Niger (2001) | Puerto Rico (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 departments (departements, singular - departement), and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder | none (territory of the US with commonwealth status); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.97% (male 2,528,484; female 2,439,051) 15-64 years: 49.75% (male 2,518,400; female 2,633,677) 65 years and over: 2.28% (male 123,589; female 111,955) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 21% (male 422,635/female 403,887)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,247,314/female 1,352,139) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 223,508/female 294,776) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 29 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
Area | total:
1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 13,790 sq km
land: 8,870 sq km water: 4,921 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island |
Background | 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 in December 1999. | Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following COLUMBUS' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly-elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose not to alter the existing political status. |
Birth rate | 50.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.79 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$377 million, including $146 million from foreign sources expenditures: $377 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $6.7 billion
expenditures: $9.6 billion (FY99/00) |
Capital | Niamey | name: San Juan
geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 66 07 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 501 km |
Constitution | the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999 | ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Niger conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 22.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | unincorporated, organized territory of the US with commonwealth status; policy relations between Puerto Rico and the US conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Charles O. CECIL 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 |
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph DIATTA chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 |
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) |
Disputes - international | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger; delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each year looking for work |
Economic aid - recipient | $341 million (1997)
note: the IMF approved a $73 million poverty reduction and growth facility for Niger in 2000 and announced $115 million in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative |
$NA |
Economy - overview | Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, because of declining world demand. The 50% devaluation of the West African franc in January 1994 boosted exports of livestock, cowpeas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid - which was suspended following the April 1999 coup d'etat - for operating expenses and public investment. In 2000, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $35 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has far surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 2004. Growth fell off in 2001-03, largely due to the slowdown in the US economy, recovered in 2004-05, but declined again in 2006. |
Electricity - consumption | 401 million kWh (1999) | 23.21 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 215 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 200 million kWh (1999) | 24.96 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Niger River 200 m highest point: Mont Greboun 1,944 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,339 m |
Environment - current issues | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
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Ethnic groups | 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 | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 31 December 1999) was appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president note: President Ibrahim BARE was assassinated on 9 April 1999; subsequent elections were held under the nine-month provisional government of Major Daouda Mallam WANKE cabinet: 23-member cabinet appointed by President TANDJA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Mamadou TANDJA elected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 59.9%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 40.1% |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA (since 2 January 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as Puerto Rico, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA elected governor; percent of vote - 48.4% |
Exports | $385 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.) | chemicals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Nigeria 27%, UK 11% (1999) | US 90.3%, UK 1.6%, Netherlands 1.4%, Dominican Republic 1.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | 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 | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design initially influenced by the US flag, but similar to the Cuban flag, with the colors of the bands and triangle reversed |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 18% services: 42% (1998) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 45% services: 54% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 0.5% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 18 15 N, 66 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north |
Highways | total:
10,100 km paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.8% highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $317 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 22%, Cote d'Ivoire 15%, Nigeria 8%, US 3% (1999) | US 55.0%, Ireland 23.7%, Japan 5.4% (2006) |
Independence | 3 August 1958 (from France) | none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 123.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 6.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Caricom (observer), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1993 est.) | 400 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court; Appellate Court; Court of First Instance composed of two sections: a Superior Court and a Municipal Court (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries | 1.3 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | agriculture: 3%
industry: 20% services: 77% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 2% other: 88% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.69%
permanent crops: 5.59% other: 90.72% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | Spanish, English |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish civil code and within the US Federal system of justice |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (83 seats, members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNSD-Nassara 38, CDS-Rahama 17, PNDS-Tarayya 16, RDP-Jama'a 8, ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya 4 |
bicameral Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (at least 27 seats - currently 29; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (51 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PNP 43.4%, PPD 40.3%, PIP 9.4%; seats by party - PNP 17, PPD 9, PIP 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PNP 46.3%, PPD 43.1%, PIP 9.7%; seats by party - PNP 32, PPD 18, PIP 1 note: Puerto Rico elects, by popular vote, a resident commissioner to serve a four-year term as a nonvoting representative in the US House of Representatives; aside from not voting on the House floor, he enjoys all the rights of a member of Congress; elections last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008); results - percent of vote by party - PNP 48.6%, other 51.4%; seats by party - PNP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
41.59 years male: 41.74 years female: 41.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.54 years
male: 74.6 years female: 82.67 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 13.6% male: 20.9% female: 6.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1% male: 93.9% female: 94.4% (2002 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 77,177 GRT/50,138 DWT
by type: roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 3 (US 3) registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Police | no regular indigenous military forces; paramilitary National Guard, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (FY96) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,202,608 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,190,787 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
108,993 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776); Puerto Rico Constitution Day, 25 July (1952) |
Nationality | noun:
Nigerien(s) adjective: Nigerien |
noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Puerto Rican |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | periodic droughts; hurricanes |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil |
Net migration rate | -0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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 [Mamadou TANDJA, 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]; Union of Democratic Patriots and Progressives-Chamoua or UPDP-Chamoua [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman] | National Democratic Party [Roberto PRATS]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Dr. Tiody FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP [Pedro ROSSELLO] (pro-US statehood); Popular Democratic Party or PPD [Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA] (pro-commonwealth); Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] (pro-independence) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Boricua Popular Army or EPB (a revolutionary group also known as Los Macheteros); note - the following radical groups are considered dormant by Federal law enforcement: Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN, Armed Forces of Popular Resistance, Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution |
Population | 10,355,156 (July 2001 est.) | 3,944,259 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.72% (2001 est.) | 0.393% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 5, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 74, FM 53, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 96 km
narrow gauge: 96 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% |
Sex ratio | 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.758 male(s)/female total population: 0.923 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | 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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: modern system integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability
domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: country code - 1-787, 939; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; submarine cable to US |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 1.038 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,000 (1995) | 3.354 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 32 (2006) |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas |
Total fertility rate | 7.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 12% (2002) |
Waterways | 300 km
note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March |
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