Niger (2004) | Trinidad and Tobago (2005) | |
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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 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, and 1 ward
regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco city corporations: Port-of-Spain, San Fernando; borough corporations: Arima, Point Fortin, Chaguanas ward: Tobago |
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: 20.7% (male 115,594/female 109,665)
15-64 years: 71% (male 403,301/female 369,664) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 40,638/female 49,782) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | cocoa, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 27 (2003 est.) | 6 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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. | The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. |
Birth rate | 48.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.81 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $3.25 billion
expenditures: $3.193 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Niamey | Port-of-Spain |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | tropical; rainy season (June to December) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 362 km |
Constitution | a new constitution was adopted 18 July 1999 | 1 August 1976 |
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 Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
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.) | 9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) | $2.94 billion (2004 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 Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6372 through 6376, 622-6176 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
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 Marina Annette VALERE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
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 | Barbados will assert its claim before UNCLOS that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to challenge this boundary as it may extend into its waters as well |
Economic aid - recipient | $341 million (1997) | $24 million (1999 est.) |
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. | Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2004 are good as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquified natural gas are expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime. |
Electricity - consumption | 325.1 million kWh (2001) | 5.341 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 242 million kWh (2001) | 5.743 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 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 | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion |
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 Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, 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 | Indian (South Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8% (2000 census) |
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) | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.299 (2004), 6.2951 (2003), 6.2487 (2002), 6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (2000) |
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 George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers |
Exports - partners | France 42.2%, Nigeria 28.9%, Japan 17.2%, Spain 4.4% (2003) | US 67.1%, Jamaica 5.7%, France 3.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.062 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 47% services: 50.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (2003 est.) | 5.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 11 00 N, 61 00 W |
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 | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt |
Highways | total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.) |
total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 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 | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals |
Imports - partners | France 16.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 13.8%, China 10.5%, Nigeria 7.7%, US 5.5%, Japan 4.9% (2003) | US 23.9%, Venezuela 11.5%, Germany 11.2%, Brazil 10.7%, Spain 6.4%, Italy 5.1% (2004) |
Independence | 3 August 1960 (from France) | 31 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA (2001 est.) | 7.2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles |
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: 24.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.23 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2002 est.) | 3.3% (2004 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.) | 590,000 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | agriculture 9.5%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, construction and utilities 12.4%, services 64.1% (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: 3.54%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 96.45% (2001) |
arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 42.18 years
male: 42.38 years female: 41.97 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 66.73 years
male: 65.6 years female: 67.91 years (2005 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
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,178 GRT/3,633 DWT
by type: passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (United States 1) registered in other countries: 4 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force, National Intervention and Security Force | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force: Ground Force, Coast Guard (includes Air Wing) (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $21.7 million (2003) | $66.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (2003) | 0.6% (2003) |
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, 31 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt |
Net migration rate | -0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -10.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2004) |
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] | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Jamaat-al Muslimeen [Yasin BAKR] |
Population | 11,360,538 (July 2004 est.) | 1,088,644 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | 21% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.67% (2004 est.) | -0.74% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian | Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, Muslim 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 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: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger
domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned international: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,400 (2002) | 325,100 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 24,000 (2003) | 361,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) | 4 (2004) |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 6.83 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2002 est.) | 10.4% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 300 km
note: Niger River is navigable to Gaya between September and March (2004) |
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