Niger (2005) | Turks and Caicos Islands (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (commune urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.3% (male 2,811,539/female 2,704,498)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 2,890,119/female 3,009,281) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 130,953/female 119,547) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.9% (male 3,432/female 3,312)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 7,155/female 6,457) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 362/female 434) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry | corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits; fish |
Airports | 27 (2004 est.) | 8 (2006) |
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: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
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: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 430 sq km
land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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 were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands remain a British overseas territory. |
Birth rate | 48.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21.84 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million, including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
revenues: $47 million
expenditures: $33.6 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1997-98 est.) |
Capital | Niamey | name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south | tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 389 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 | Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August 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: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands abbreviation: TCI |
Death rate | 21.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1999 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger | have received Haitians fleeing economic and civil disorder |
Economic aid - recipient | $341 million (1997) | $4.1 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, a landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 3.3% population growth rate, and the drop in world demand for uranium have undercut the economy. Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund program for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. | The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the leading source of tourists, accounting for more than half of the annual 93,000 visitors in the late 1990s. Major sources of government revenue also include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. |
Electricity - consumption | 327.6 million kWh (2002) | 4.65 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 80 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 266.2 million kWh (2002) | 5 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Hills 49 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 | limited natural fresh water resources, private cisterns collect rainwater |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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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 | black 90%, mixed, European, or North American 10% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) | the US dollar is used |
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: 27-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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005)
head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003); note - the office of premier was created in the new constitution cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Council, and the attorney general elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed premier by the governor |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions | lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells |
Exports - partners | France 41%, Nigeria 22.4%, Japan 15.3%, Switzerland 6%, Spain 4.1%, Ghana 4% (2004) | US, UK (2004) |
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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2004 est.) | 4.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E | 21 45 N, 71 35 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 | about 40 islands (eight inhabited) |
Highways | total: 10,100 km
paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.) |
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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 narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals | food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials |
Imports - partners | France 14.4%, US 10.3%, French Polynesia 9.4%, Nigeria 7.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.5%, Japan 5.2%, China 5.1%, Thailand 4.1% (2004) | US, UK (2004) |
Independence | 3 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses | tourism, offshore financial services |
Infant mortality rate | total: 121.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 125.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 117.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2002 est.) | 4% (1995) |
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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU |
Irrigated land | 660 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries (2002 est.) | 4,848 (1990 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% | note: about 33% in government and 20% in agriculture and fishing; significant numbers in tourism, financial, and other services |
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: 2.33%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.67% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma | English (official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas |
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, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, Party for Socialism and Democracy in Niger 1, other 8 |
unicameral Legislative Council (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 24 April 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PDM 53.8%, PNP 46.2%; seats by party - PDM 7, PNP 6; note - in by-elections held 7 August 2003, the PNP gained two seats for a majority of 8 seats; PDM now has 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.5 years
male: 43.54 years female: 43.45 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 74.73 years
male: 72.48 years female: 77.08 years (2006 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 has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria | Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Niger Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $33.3 million (2004) | $192.8 million |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) |
Nationality | noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
noun: none
adjective: none |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts | frequent hurricanes |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum | spiny lobster, conch |
Net migration rate | -0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
People - note | - | destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound for the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and US |
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 [TANDJA Mamadou, 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 Social Democracy or RSD [Cheiffou AMADOU]; Union of Democratic Patriots and Progressives-Chamoua or UPDP-Chamoua [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman] | People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Derek H. TAYLOR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 11,665,937 (July 2005 est.) | 21,152 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 63% (1993 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.63% (2005 est.) | 2.82% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian | Baptist 40%, Anglican 18%, Methodist 16%, Church of God 12%, other 14% (1990) |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 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: fully digital system with international direct dialing
domestic: full range of services available; GSM wireless service available international: country code - 1-649; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,400 (2002) | 5,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 24,000 (2003) | 1,700 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) | 0 (broadcasts from The Bahamas are received; 2 cable television networks) (2004) |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north | low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps |
Total fertility rate | 6.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2002 est.) | 10% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 300 km
note: Niger River is navigable to Gaya between September and March (2004) |
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