Niger (2002) | Bahrain (2001) | |
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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 | 12 municipalities (manatiq, singular - mintaqah); Al Hadd, Al Manamah, Al Mintaqah al Gharbiyah, Al Mintaqah al Wusta, Al Mintaqah ash Shamaliyah, Al Muharraq, Ar Rifa' wa al Mintaqah al Janubiyah, Jidd Hafs, Madinat Hamad, Madinat 'Isa, Juzur Hawar, Sitrah
note: all municipalities administered from Manama |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,594,932; female 2,503,867)
15-64 years: 49.8% (male 2,594,307; female 2,706,164) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 125,898; female 114,576) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
29.6% (male 96,697; female 94,330) 15-64 years: 67.43% (male 257,360; female 177,839) 65 years and over: 2.97% (male 9,721; female 9,414) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | fruit, vegetables; poultry, dairy products; shrimp, fish |
Airports | 26 (2001) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
2 over 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total:
620 sq km land: 620 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Not until 1993, 35 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. | Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Possessing minimal oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum processing and refining, and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The new amir is pushing economic and political reforms, and has worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In 2001, the International Court of Justice awarded the Hawar Islands, long disputed with Qatar, to Bahrain. |
Birth rate | 49.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $320 million, including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$1.8 billion expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Niamey | Manama |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 161 km |
Constitution | the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999 | adopted late December 2000 (new constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary) |
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:
State of Bahrain conventional short form: Bahrain local long form: Dawlat al Bahrayn local short form: Al Bahrayn former: Dilmun |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Bahraini dinar (BHD) |
Death rate | 22.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) | $2.7 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Johnny YOUNG embassy: #979, Road 3119 (next to Al-Ahli Sports Club), Block 321, Zinj District, Manama mailing address: American Embassy Manama, PSC 451, FPO AE 09834-5100; international mail: American Embassy, Box 26431, Manama telephone: [973] 273-300 FAX: [973] 272-594 |
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 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 342-0741 FAX: [1] (202) 362-2192 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Niger and Benin have refered to the ICJ the dispute over l'Ete and 14 smaller islands in the Niger River, which has never been delimited; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger in a currently dormant dispute | in March of 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the Hawar Islands to Bahrain and also adjusted Bahrain's maritime boundary with Qatar |
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 (1997) |
$48.4 million (1995) |
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 2000-01, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $105 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. 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. | In Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil revenue granted as aid. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. |
Electricity - consumption | 404.6 million kWh (2000) | 5.752 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 220 million kWh (2000) | 6.185 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 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 | desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought, and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water are the only sources for all water needs |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | Bahraini 63%, Asian 19%, other Arab 10%, Iranian 8% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Bahraini dinars per US dollar - 0.3760 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
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 cabinet: 23-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Mamadou TANDJA elected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 59.9%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 40.1% |
chief of state:
Amir HAMAD bin Isa Al Khalifa (since 6 March 1999); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SALMAN bin Hamad (son of the monarch, born 21 October 1969) head of government: Prime Minister KHALIFA bin Salman Al Khalifa (since NA 1971) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $246 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $5.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.) | petroleum and petroleum products 61%, aluminum 7% |
Exports - partners | France 43.4%, Nigeria 35.0%, Spain 4.5%, US 3.9% (2000) | India 14%, Saudi Arabia 5%, US 5%, UAE 5%, Japan 4%, South Korea 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | red with a white serrated band (eight white points) on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 41%
industry: 17% services: 42% (2000) |
agriculture:
1% industry: 46% services: 53% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.1% (2001 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 26 00 N, 50 33 E |
Geography - note | 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 | close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1996) |
total:
3,164 km paved: 2,433 km unpaved: 731 km note: there is a paved causeway connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 35% (1995) (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $331 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | nonoil 59%, crude oil 41% |
Imports - partners | France 16.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.4%, US 9.6%, Nigeria 7.6% (2000) | France 20%, US 14%, UK 8%, Saudi Arabia 7%, Japan 5% (1999) |
Independence | 3 August 1960 (from France) | 15 August 1971 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | petroleum processing and refining, aluminum smelting, offshore banking, ship repairing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 122.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 19.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.2% (2001 est.) | 2% (2000 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, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | High Civil Appeals Court |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries | 295,000 (1998 est.)
note: 44% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | industry, commerce, and service 79%, government 20%, agriculture 1% (1997 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: 3.94%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.06% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 0% other: 92% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law and English common law |
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 was dissolved 26 August 1975 and legislative powers were assumed by the Cabinet; appointed Advisory Council established 16 December 1992; the National Action Charter created a bicameral legislature on 23 December 2000; approved by referendum of 14 February 2001 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 41.91 years
male: 42.04 years female: 41.77 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
73.2 years male: 70.81 years female: 75.67 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 15.3% male: 21.2% female: 9.4% (2002) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.2% male: 89.1% female: 79.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 175,609 GRT/207,652 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 3, container 2 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Intervention and Security Force | Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.9 million (FY01) | $318 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY01) | 5.2% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,270,793 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
222,141 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,227,994 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
121,833 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 15 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 108,993 (2002 est.) | males:
5,926 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) | National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 is the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 is the date of independence from British protection |
Nationality | noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
noun:
Bahraini(s) adjective: Bahraini |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | periodic droughts; dust storms |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum | oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls |
Net migration rate | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 56 km; petroleum products 16 km; natural gas 32 km |
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] | political parties prohibited |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Shi'a activists fomented unrest sporadically 1994-97, demanding the return of an elected National Assembly and an end to unemployment; several small, clandestine leftist and Islamic fundamentalist groups are active |
Population | 10,639,744 (July 2002 est.) | 645,361
note: includes 228,424 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.7% (2002 est.) | 1.73% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Manama, Mina' Salman, Sitrah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | 338,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km (2002) | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian | Shi'a Muslim 70%, Sunni Muslim 30% |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.45 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.29 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none |
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 domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones international: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (2001) | 152,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,700 (2002) | 58,543 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) | 4 (1997) |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment |
Total fertility rate | 7 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 15% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 300 km
note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March |
none |