Niger (2001) | Uganda (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 departments (departements, singular - departement), and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder | 45 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Soroti, Tororo
note: there may be eleven more districts: Kaberamaido, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kayunga, Kyenjojo, Mayngc, Nakapiripiti, Pader, Sironko, Wakiso, Yumbe |
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: 50.9% (male 6,314,371; female 6,265,681)
15-64 years: 47% (male 5,803,430; female 5,789,713) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 247,798; female 278,080) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, cut flowers |
Airports | 27 (2000 est.) | 27 (2001) |
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: 4
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total:
1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. |
Birth rate | 50.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 47.15 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$377 million, including $146 million from foreign sources expenditures: $377 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $959 million
expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Niamey | Kampala |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999 | 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995 |
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: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Ugandan shilling (UGX) |
Death rate | 22.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | $3.4 billion (2001 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jimmy KOLKER
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Edith Grace SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
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 | Tutsi, Hutu, and other ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda |
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 |
$1.4 billion (2000) (2000) |
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. | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee is the major export crop and accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001 was held back because of a continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. |
Electricity - consumption | 401 million kWh (1999) | 1.314 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 174 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 215 million kWh (1999) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 200 million kWh (1999) | 1.599 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Niger River 200 m highest point: Mont Greboun 1,944 m |
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 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 | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8% |
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 | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,738.7 (January 2002), 1,755.7 (2001), 1,644.5 (2000), 1,454.8 (1999), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997) |
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 Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 12 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 69.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 27.8% |
Exports | $385 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $367 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.) | coffee, fish and fish products, tea; gold, cotton, flowers, horticultural products |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Nigeria 27%, UK 11% (1999) | Germany 12.0%, Netherlands 10.2%, US 8.7%, Spain 8.0%, Belgium 7.1% (2000) |
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 | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 18% services: 42% (1998) |
agriculture: 44%
industry: 18% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 5.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 1 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers |
Highways | total:
10,100 km paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1996) |
total: 27,000 km
paved: 1,800 km unpaved: 25,200 km (of which about 4,200 km are all-weather roads) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.8% highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
Imports | $317 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $1.26 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals |
Imports - partners | France 22%, Cote d'Ivoire 15%, Nigeria 8%, US 3% (1999) | Kenya 43.1%, US 7.0%, India 6.8%, South Africa 6.1%, Japan 3.4% (2000) |
Independence | 3 August 1958 (from France) | 9 October 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7% (1999) (1999) |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 123.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 89.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2001 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 | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1993 est.) | 90 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries | 12 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 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 |
total: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 2% other: 88% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.34%
permanent crops: 8.77% other: 65.89% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 June 2001 (next to be held May or June 2006); election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
41.59 years male: 41.74 years female: 41.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 43.81 years
male: 42.97 years female: 44.67 years (2002 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: 62.7% male: 74% female: 54% (2000 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT
ships by type: roll on/roll off 3 note: these ships are in cargo and passenger (ferry) service on Uganda's inland waterways (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Police | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (including Army, Marine unit, Air Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY96) | $121.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (FY96) | 2.1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,202,608 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 5,302,787 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,190,787 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,879,083 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
108,993 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) | Independence Day, 9 October (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Nigerien(s) adjective: Nigerien |
noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | NA |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 2001, Uganda was host to 178,815 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 155,996, Rwanda 14,375, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,459 (2002 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] | only one political organization, the National Resistance Movement or NRM [President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the NRM is not a political party, but a movement which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans
note: the new constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement organization is in governance; of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Milton OBOTE]; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; Conservative Party or CP [Joshua S. MAYANJA-NKANGI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 10,355,156 (July 2001 est.) | 24,699,073
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | 35% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.72% (2001 est.) | 2.94% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 5, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | 5 million (2001) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,241 km
narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge note: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short range traffic international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
Telephones - main lines in use | 16,000 (1997) | 50,074; however, 80,868 main lines have been installed (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,000 (1995) | 9,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | mostly plateau with rim of mountains |
Total fertility rate | 7.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 300 km
note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March |
Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile |