Niger (2002) | Solomon Islands (2007) | |
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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 | 9 provinces and 1 capital territory*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western |
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: 40.7% (male 117,739/female 113,125)
15-64 years: 55.9% (male 160,310/female 156,773) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 9,036/female 9,859) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | cocoa beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; timber; cattle, pigs; fish |
Airports | 26 (2001) | 35 (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 (2002) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 23 (2007) |
Area | total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 28,450 sq km
land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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 UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on this archipelago. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Ethnic violence, government malfeasance, and endemic crime have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003, then Prime Minister Sir Allen KEMAKEZA sought the assistance of Australia in reestablishing law and order; the following month, an Australian-led multinational force arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has generally been effective in restoring law and order and rebuilding government institutions. |
Birth rate | 49.95 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 29.27 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $320 million, including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $49.7 million
expenditures: $75.1 million (2003) |
Capital | Niamey | name: Honiara
geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 5,313 km |
Constitution | the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999 | 7 July 1978 |
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: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands local long form: none local short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 22.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.87 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) | $166 million (2004) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
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 Collin David BECK
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
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 | since 2003, Australian Defense Force leads the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security |
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) |
$198.2 million annually, mainly from Australia (2005 est.) |
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 bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of its livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. Prior to the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), severe ethnic violence, the closing of key businesses, and an empty government treasury culminated in economic collapse. RAMSI's efforts to restore law and order and economic stability have led to modest growth as the economy rebuilds. |
Electricity - consumption | 404.6 million kWh (2000) | 55.8 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 220 million kWh (2000) | 60 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; many of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
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 | Melanesian 94.5%, Polynesian 3%, Micronesian 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.2% (1999 census) |
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 | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 7.3447 (2006), 7.5299 (2005), 7.4847 (2004), 7.5059 (2003), 6.7488 (2002) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Nathaniel WAENA (since 7 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Manasseh SOGAVARE (since 4 May 2006); note - Prime Minister Snyder RINI, elected on 18 April 2006 and sworn in on 20 April 2006, resigned on 26 April prior to no confidence vote in parliament; SOGAVARE elected on 4 May 2006 cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years (eligible for a second term); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament |
Exports | $246 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.) | timber, fish, copra, palm oil, cocoa |
Exports - partners | France 43.4%, Nigeria 35.0%, Spain 4.5%, US 3.9% (2000) | China 48%, South Korea 9.5%, Japan 8.9%, Thailand 4.7%, Italy 4.4%, Philippines 4.2% (2006) |
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 | divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.4 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 41%
industry: 17% services: 42% (2000) |
agriculture: 42%
industry: 11% services: 47% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.1% (2001 est.) | 4.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 8 00 S, 159 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 on sea routes between the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea, and the Coral Sea; on 2 April 2007 an undersea earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale occurred 345 km WNW of the capital Honiara, the resulting tsunami devastated coastal areas of Western and Choiseul provinces with dozens of deaths and thousands dislocated; the provincial capital of Gizo was especially hard hit |
Government - note | - | by 2006, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) - originally made up of troops from Australia, NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga - had been scaled back to 259 police officers and 20 military, in addition to civilian technical advisers; in response to rioting that broke out in mid-April 2006, Australia dispatched an additional 220 troops and 70 police officers to help restore order |
Heliports | - | 3 (2007) |
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%: 1%
highest 10%: 35% (1995) (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $331 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | food, plant and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 16.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.4%, US 9.6%, Nigeria 7.6% (2000) | Australia 25.5%, Singapore 23.5%, Japan 7.8%, NZ 5.1%, Fiji 4.2%, Papua New Guinea 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 3 August 1960 (from France) | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
Infant mortality rate | 122.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 19.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.2% (2001 est.) | 6.6% (2005 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 | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries | 249,200 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | agriculture: 75%
industry: 5% services: 20% (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: 3.94%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.06% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.62%
permanent crops: 2.04% other: 97.34% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law, which is widely disregarded |
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 Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 5 April 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - National Party 6.9%, PAP 6.3%, SIPRA 6.3%, Liberal 5%, Democratic 4.9%, SOCRED 4.3%, LAFARI 2.8%, independents 60.3%; seats by party - National Party 4, SIPRA 4, Democratic 3, PAP 3, LAFARI 2, Liberal 2, SOCRED 2, independents 30 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 41.91 years
male: 42.04 years female: 41.77 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.16 years
male: 70.64 years female: 75.81 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 15.3% male: 21.2% female: 9.4% (2002) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Intervention and Security Force | no regular military forces; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.9 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.3% (FY01) | 3% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,270,793 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,227,994 (2002 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, 7 July (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
noun: Solomon Islander(s)
adjective: Solomon Islander |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
Net migration rate | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 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] | Association of Independent Members or AIM [Thomas CHAN]; Christian Alliance Solomon Islands or CASI [Edward RONIA]; LAFARI Party [John GARO]; National Party [Francis HILLY]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [Sir Allan KEMAKEZA]; Social Credit Party or SOCRED [Manasseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon First Party [David QUAN]; Solomon Islands Democratic Party [Gabriel SURI]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; Solomon Islands Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Job D. TAUSINGA]; United Party [Sir Peter KENILOREA]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM); Malaita Eagle Force (MEF); note - these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003 |
Population | 10,639,744 (July 2002 est.) | 566,842 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.7% (2002 est.) | 2.54% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2004) |
Radios | 680,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km (2002) | - |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian | Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.917 male(s)/female total population: 1.026 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 677; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (2001) | 7,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,700 (2002) | 6,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) | - |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 7 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.78 children born/woman (2007 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 |
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