Niger (2002) | Djibouti (2003) | |
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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 | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
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: 43.1% (male 98,796; female 98,202)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 129,492; female 116,953) 65 years and over: 3% (male 6,933; female 6,754) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels |
Airports | 26 (2001) | 13 (2002) |
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: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Area | total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
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. | The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party state and proceeded to serve three consecutive six-year terms as president. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990's led to multi-party elections resulting in President Ismail Omar GUELLEH attaining office in May 1999. A peace accord in 2001 ended the final phases of a ten-year uprising by Afar rebels. Djibouti occupies a very strategic geographic location at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment location for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands. GUELLEH favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country. |
Birth rate | 49.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 40.78 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $320 million, including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Niamey | Djibouti |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 314 km |
Constitution | the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999 | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
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 Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
Death rate | 22.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.45 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) | $366 million (2002 est.) |
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 Donald YAMAMOTO
embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
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 ROBLE Olhaye
chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
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 | Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia including the Somali Transitional National Government in Mogadishu |
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) |
$36 million (2001) |
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. | The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of 50% continues to be a major problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to the US dollar. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors. Another factor limiting growth is the negative impact on port activity now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. |
Electricity - consumption | 404.6 million kWh (2000) | 167.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 220 million kWh (2000) | 180 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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 | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
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 | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000), 177.72 (1999), 177.72 (1998) |
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: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister DILEITA Mohamed Dileita (since 4 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH elected president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
Exports | $246 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.) | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | France 43.4%, Nigeria 35.0%, Spain 4.5%, US 3.9% (2000) | Somalia 56.7%, Yemen 24.4%, Pakistan 4.8%, Ethiopia 4.4%, UAE 4.1% (2002) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $619 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 41%
industry: 17% services: 42% (2000) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.1% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 11 30 N, 43 00 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 | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa |
Highways | total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1996) |
total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
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.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 16.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.4%, US 9.6%, Nigeria 7.6% (2000) | Saudi Arabia 18.2%, Ethiopia 10.5%, US 9.2%, France 8.6%, China 8.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 3 August 1960 (from France) | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | construction, agricultural processing |
Infant mortality rate | 122.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 106.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 114.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 98.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.2% (2001 est.) | 2% (2002 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries | 282,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | NA% |
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: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.94%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.06% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic 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 Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 10 January 2003 (next to be held NA January 2008) election results: percent of vote - RPP 62.2%, FRUD 36.9%; seats - RPP 65, FRUD 0; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 41.91 years
male: 42.04 years female: 41.77 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 43.13 years
male: 41.82 years female: 44.48 years (2003 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: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Intervention and Security Force | Djibouti National Army (including Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.9 million (FY01) | $26.53 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY01) | 4.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,270,793 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 107,050 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,227,994 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 63,459 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 108,993 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum | geothermal areas |
Net migration rate | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; Djibouti Development Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM]; Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratique or FRUD [Ali Mohamed DAOUD]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GUELLEH]; Peoples Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Moumin Bahdon FARAH]; Republican Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Ahmed Dini AHMED]; Union for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Union for Presidential Majority UMP (coalition includes RPP, FRUD, PPSD and PND); Union for Democratic Changeover or UAD (opposition coalition includes ARD, MRDD, UDJ, and PDD) [Ahmed Dini AHMED] |
Population | 10,639,744 (July 2002 est.) | 457,130 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.7% (2002 est.) | 2.13% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km (2002) | total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
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: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
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: telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country
domestic: microwave radio relay network international: submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (2001) | 10,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,700 (2002) | 5,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 7 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.56 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 300 km
note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March |
none |