Compare Niger (2004) - Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008)

Compare Niger (2004) z Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008)

	Niger (2004)	Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2008)

Administrative divisions	7 departments (departements, singular - departement) and 1 capital district (capitale district); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder	10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and 1 city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu note: according to the Constitution adopted in December 2005, the current administrative divisions will be subdivided into 26 new provinces by 2009
Age structure	0-14 years: 47.5% (male 2,749,039; female 2,643,479) 15-64 years: 50.4% (male 2,799,125; female 2,925,133) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 128,101; female 115,661) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 47.6% (male 15,718,614/female 15,557,058) 15-64 years: 49.9% (male 16,224,734/female 16,571,549) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 680,313/female 999,244) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry	coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products
Airports	27 (2003 est.)	237 (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 (2004 est.)	total: 26 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 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 (2004 est.)	total: 211 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 99 (2007)
Area	total: 1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km	total: 2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of Texas	slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
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 by December 1999. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa.	Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda and fronted by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by a second insurrection again backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Angola, Chad, Namibia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe intervened to support KABILA's regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph KABILA, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003. Joseph KABILA as president and four vice presidents represented the former government, former rebel groups, the political opposition, and civil society. The transitional government held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. KABILA was inaugurated president in December 2006. The National Assembly was installed in September 2006. Its president, Vital KAMERHE, was chosen in December. Provincial assemblies were constituted in early 2007, and elected governors and national senators in January 2007.
Birth rate	48.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	42.96 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: $700 million expenditures: $2 billion (2006 est.)
Capital	Niamey	name: Kinshasa geographic coordinates: 4 19 S, 15 18 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south	tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	37 km
Constitution	a new constitution was adopted 18 July 1999	18 February 2006
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: Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DRC
Currency	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States	-
Death rate	21.51 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	10.34 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (1999 est.)	$10 billion (2006 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 William GARVELINK embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (81) 556-0151 FAX: [243] (81) 556-0175
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 Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009: note - Consular Office at 1726 M Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609
Disputes - international	Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias	heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledge to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC); in 2006, the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) maintained over 18,000 uniformed peacekeepers in the region, first deployed in 1999; despite significant repatriation efforts by governments and international organizations, in 2006, Angolans, Rwandans, Sudanese, and residents of other neighboring states reside as refugees in the DROC; members of Uganda's Lords Resistance Army forces take refuge in DROC's Garamba National Park; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
Economic aid - recipient	$341 million (1997)	$1.828 billion (2005)
Economy - overview	Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and 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. Further disbursements of aid occurred in 2002. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources.	The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is slowly recovering from two decades of decline. Conflict, which began in August 1998, dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of more than 3.5 million people from violence, famine, and disease. Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops. The transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors, and President KABILA has begun implementing reforms, although progress is slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns. Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector, and is not reflected in GDP data. Renewed activity in the mining sector, the source of most export income, boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. Government reforms and improved security may lead to increased government revenues, outside budget assistance, and foreign direct investment, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption, and a lack of transparency in government policy are continuing long-term problems.
Electricity - consumption	325.1 million kWh (2001)	572 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	100 million kWh (2001)	418 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	242 million kWh (2001)	352 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Niger River 200 m highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (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	poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching; mining of minerals (coltan - a mineral used in creating capacitors, diamonds, and gold) causing environmental damage
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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	over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)	Congolese francs per US dollar - NA (2007), 464.69 (2006), 437.86 (2005), 401.04 (2004), 405.34 (2003)
Executive branch	chief of state: President TANDJA Mamadou (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President TANDJA Mamadou (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; second round last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: TANDJA Mamadou reelected president; percent of vote - TANDJA Mamadou 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5%	chief of state: President Joseph KABILA (since 17 January 2001); note - following the assassination of his father, Joseph KABILA succeeded to the presidency which he retained through the 2003-2006 transition; he was subsequently elected president in October 2006 head of government: Prime Minister Antoine GIZENGA (since 30 December 2006); cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president elections: under the new constitution the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 30 July 2006 with a second round held on 29 October 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: results of 29 October 2006 elections (second round); Joseph KABILA 58%, Jean-Pierre BEMBA Gombo 42% note: Joseph KABILA succeeded his father, Laurent Desire KABILA, following the latter's assassination in January 2001; negotiations with rebel leaders led to the establishment of a transitional government in July 2003 with free elections held on 30 July 2006 and 29 October 2006 confirming Joseph KABILA as president
Exports	NA (2001)	229,700 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions	diamonds, copper, crude oil, coffee, cobalt
Exports - partners	France 42.2%, Nigeria 28.9%, Japan 17.2%, Spain 4.4% (2003)	Belgium 29.4%, China 21.1%, Brazil 12.3%, Chile 7.8%, Finland 7.2%, US 4.9% (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	sky blue field divided diagonally from the lower hoist corner to upper fly corner by a red stripe bordered by two narrow yellow stripes; a yellow, five-pointed star appears in the upper hoist corner
GDP	purchasing power parity - $9.062 billion (2003 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 39% industry: 17% services: 44% (2001)	agriculture: 55% industry: 11% services: 34% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3.8% (2003 est.)	7% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	16 00 N, 8 00 E	0 00 N, 25 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	straddles equator; has very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo River and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands
Highways	total: 10,100 km paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.8% highest 10%: 35.4% (1995)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	one of Africa's biggest producers of cannabis, but mostly for domestic consumption; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leaves the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
Imports	NA (2001)	8,220 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals	foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels
Imports - partners	France 16.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.8%, China 10.5%, Nigeria 7.7%, US 5.5%, Japan 4.9% (2003)	South Africa 17.7%, Belgium 10.9%, France 8.5%, Zimbabwe 8.1%, Zambia 6.9%, Kenya 6.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.4% (2006)
Independence	3 August 1960 (from France)	30 June 1960 (from Belgium)
Industrial production growth rate	NA (2001 est.)	NA%
Industries	uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses	mining (diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, coltan zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement, commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	total: 122.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 126.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 118.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 65.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 71.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3% (2002 est.)	18.2% (2006 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	660 sq km (1998 est.)	110 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel	Constitutional Court; Appeals Court or Cour de Cassation; Council of State; High Military Court; plus civil and military courts and tribunals
Labor force	70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.)	15 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 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: 10,730 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of Angola's discontiguous Cabinda Province), Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 459 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km
Land use	arable land: 3.54% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 96.45% (2001)	arable land: 2.86% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.67% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Hausa, Djerma	French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
Legal system	based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly (113 seats; note - expanded from 83 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNSD 47, CDS 22, PNDS 17, Social Democratic Rally 7 RDP 6i ANDP 5, Party for Socialism and Democarcy in Niger 1, other 8	bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly (500 seats; 61 members elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies, 439 members elected by open list proportional-representation in multi-member constituencies; to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (108 seats; members elected by provincial assemblies to serve five-year terms) elections: National Assembly - last held 30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Senate - last held 19 January 2007 (next to be held by 2012) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 111, MLC 64, PALU 34, MSR 27, FR 26, RCD 15, independents 63, others 160 (includes 63 political parties that won 10 or fewer seats); Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPRD 22, MLC 14, FR 7, RCD 7, PDC 6, CDC 3, MSR 3, PALU 2, independents 26, others 18 (political parties that won a single seat)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 42.18 years male: 42.38 years female: 41.97 years (2004 est.)	total population: 57.2 years male: 54.97 years female: 59.5 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 65.5% male: 76.2% female: 55.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Western Africa, southeast of Algeria	Central Africa, northeast of Angola
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: boundaries with neighbors
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,004 GRT/1,640 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Congo, Republic of the 1) (2007)
Military branches	Army, Air Force, National Intervention and Security Force	Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Force Aerienne Congolaise, FAC) (2008)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$21.7 million (2003)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.1% (2003)	2.5% (2006)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 2,460,637 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 1,333,027 (2004 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 122,363 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Republic Day, 18 December (1958)	Independence Day, 30 June (1960)
Nationality	noun: Nigerien(s) adjective: Nigerien	noun: Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo
Natural hazards	recurring droughts	periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes
Natural resources	uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum	cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber
Net migration rate	-0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 62 km; oil 71 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ANDP [leader NA]; 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]; Party for Socialism and Democracy in Niger [leader NA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [leader NA]; Union of Democratic Patriots and Progressives-Chamoua or UPDP-Chamoua [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman]	Christian Democrat Party or PDC [Jose ENDUNDO]; Congolese Rally for Democracy or RCD [Azarias RUBERWA]; Convention of Christian Democrats or CDC; Forces of Renewal or FR [Mbusa NYAMWISI]; Movement for the Liberation of the Congo or MLC [Jean-Pierre BEMBA]; People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy or PPRD [Joseph KABILA]; Social Movement for Renewal or MSR [Pierre LUMBI]; Unified Lumumbist Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI]; Union of Mobutuist Democrats or UDEMO [MOBUTU Nzanga]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	11,360,538 (July 2004 est.)	65,751,512 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 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	63% (1993 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.67% (2004 est.)	3.39% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors	none	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001)	AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 5,138 km narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian	Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other (includes syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs) 10%
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: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.681 male(s)/female total population: 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)	general assessment: Inadequate; state-owned fixed-line operator has been unable to expand fixed-line connections and there are now fewer than 10,000 connections; given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the use of cellular services has surged and subscribership now exceeds 4 million - roughly 7 per 100 persons domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 243; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use	22,400 (2002)	9,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	24,000 (2003)	4.415 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002)	4 (2001)
Terrain	predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north	vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Total fertility rate	6.83 children born/woman (2004 est.)	6.37 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA (2002 est.)	NA%
Waterways	300 km note: Niger River is navigable to Gaya between September and March (2004)	15,000 km (2005)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.