Saint Kitts and Nevis (2002) | Niger (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.4% (male 5,827; female 5,571)
15-64 years: 61.9% (male 11,980; female 12,005) 65 years and over: 8.7% (male 1,383; female 1,970) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.9% (male 2,994,022/female 2,882,273)
15-64 years: 50.7% (male 3,262,114/female 3,083,522) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 150,982/female 152,181) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 28 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. | Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999 BARE was killed in a coup by military officers who promptly restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004. 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. |
Birth rate | 18.61 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 50.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.7 million
expenditures: $95.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million; including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Basseterre | name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 135 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 19 September 1983 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.91 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $140 million (2000) (2000) | $2.1 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernadette M. ALLEN
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 73 31 69 FAX: [227] 73 55 60 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Osbert LIBURD
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Aminata Maiga Djibrilla TOURE
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
Disputes - international | none | Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries |
Economic aid - recipient | $5.5 million (1995) (1995) | $453.3 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the St. Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the September 11 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances. The government revised estimates of 2001 growth down to 1% and faces dim recovery prospects in 2002, given the depressed state of the tourism industry, low sugar prices, and a growing budget deficit. | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. It is 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 2.9% 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. In December 2005, it was announced that Niger had received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately $86 million USD in debts to the IMF, excluding the remaining assistance under HIPC. 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. Uranium prices have recovered somewhat in the last few years. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigerians. |
Electricity - consumption | 88.35 million kWh (2000) | 263.9 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 50 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (2000) | 230 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | predominantly black some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese | 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 |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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: 26-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); second round last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
Exports | $51.7 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | US 68.5%, UK 22.3%, Caricom countries 5.5% (1995 est.) | France 47.8%, Nigeria 21.4%, US 20.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 26% services: 71% (2001) (2001) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,700 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 20 N, 62 45 W | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island | 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 |
Highways | total: 320 km
paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity | - |
Imports | $141.3 million (2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | US 42.4%, Caricom countries 17.2%, UK 11.3% (1995 est.) | France 14.5%, US 10.7%, French Polynesia 7.5%, Nigeria 7.4%, Italy 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, Germany 4.5%, China 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | 19 September 1983 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | 15.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 118.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 114.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2001 est.) | 0.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | 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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 730 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 18,172 (June 1995) | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 16.67%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 80.55% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
Languages | English | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1 |
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 25, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, PSDN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.29 years
male: 68.49 years female: 74.26 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 43.76 years
male: 43.8 years female: 43.73 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military branches | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit) | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $44.78 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to October) | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | arable land | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | -9.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] | Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Hama AMADOU]; Niger Social Democratic Party or PSDN; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Autonomy or PNA-Alouma'a [Sanousi JACKOU]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Issifou MAHAMADOU]; Nigerien Progressive Party or PPN-RDA [Abdoulaye DIORI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP-jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]; Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Coalition Against a High Cost of Living [Nouhou ARZIKA] |
Population | 38,736 (July 2002 est.) | 12,525,094 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.01% (2002 est.) | 2.92% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Basseterre, Charlestown | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 28,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 58 km
narrow gauge: 58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (2002) |
- |
Religions | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good interisland and international connections
domestic: interisland links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 24,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 205 (1997) | 299,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | volcanic with mountainous interiors | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.39 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 7.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1997) (1997) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |