Sudan (2002) | Niger (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab | 7 departments (departements, singular - departement), and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.2% (male 8,385,554; female 8,023,847)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 9,945,683; female 9,933,383) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 447,214; female 354,617) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.97% (male 2,528,484; female 2,439,051) 15-64 years: 49.75% (male 2,518,400; female 2,633,677) 65 years and over: 2.28% (male 123,589; female 111,955) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 65 (2001) | 27 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
total:
9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 51 53
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 17 11 (2002) |
total:
18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total:
1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | Military dictatorships favoring an Islamic-oriented government have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The war pits the Arab/Muslim majority in Khartoum against the non-Muslim African rebels in the south. Since 1989, traditional northern Muslim parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. | 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 in December 1999. |
Birth rate | 37.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 50.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$377 million, including $146 million from foreign sources expenditures: $377 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1999 est.) |
Capital | Khartoum | Niamey |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 853 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR | the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
conventional long form:
Republic of Niger conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 9.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 22.71 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | $1.3 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | For security reasons, US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were relocated in February 1996 to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make regular visits to Khartoum; the US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi; mailing address - P. O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone - [254] (2) 751613; FAX - [254] (2) 743204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address - Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone - [20] (2) 3557371; FAX - [20] (2) 3573200 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Charles O. CECIL 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph DIATTA chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 |
Disputes - international | Sudan agrees in 2002 to demarcate whole boundary with Ethiopia; Egypt and Sudan each claim to administer triangular areas which extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel (the north "Hala'ib Triangle" is the largest with 20,580 sq km); in 2001, the two states agreed to discuss an "area of integration" and withdraw military forces in the overlapping areas; since colonial times, Kenya's administrative boundary has extended beyond its treaty boundary into Sudan creating the "Ilemi Triangle" | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger; delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria |
Economic aid - recipient | $187 million (1997) | $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 |
Economy - overview | Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems. Starting in 1997 Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms that have successfully stabilized inflation. In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Current oil production stands at 220,000 barrels per day, of which some 70% is exported and the rest refined mostly for domestic consumption. Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones should maintain GDP growth at 5% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 43% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Sudan is also constrained by its limited access to international credit; most of Sudan's $24.9 billion debt remains in arrears. The civil war, chronic instability, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. | 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, the World Bank approved a structural adjustment loan of $35 million to help support fiscal reforms. However, reforms could prove difficult given the government's bleak financial situation. |
Electricity - consumption | 1,832.1 million kWh (2000) | 401 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 215 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.97 billion kWh (2000) | 200 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 49%
hydro: 51% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point:
Niger River 200 m highest point: Mont Greboun 1,944 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought | 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, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | 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 | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 261.44 (January 2002), 258.70 (2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair poll note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
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 note: President Ibrahim BARE was assassinated on 9 April 1999; subsequent elections were held under the nine-month provisional government of Major Daouda Mallam WANKE cabinet: 23-member cabinet appointed by President TANDJA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; last held 24 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Mamadou TANDJA elected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 59.9%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 40.1% |
Exports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $385 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | uranium ore 65%, livestock products, cowpeas, onions (1998 est.) |
Exports - partners | Japan 25%, China 19%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Germany 4%, (2000) | France 45%, Nigeria 27%, UK 11% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side | 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 - $49.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 17% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 18% services: 42% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,360 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | landlocked |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
total:
10,100 km paved: 798 km unpaved: 9,302 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.8% highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $317 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat | consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | China 12%, Saudi Arabia 10%, UK 10%, Germany 7% (2000) | France 22%, Cote d'Ivoire 15%, Nigeria 8%, US 3% (1999) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | 3 August 1958 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly | uranium mining, cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | 67.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 123.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2002) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 19,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 660 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | 70,000 receive regular wages or salaries |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.) | agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4% |
Land boundaries | total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 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: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.08% other: 92.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 2% other: 88% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: NCP 355, others 5 note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.33 years
male: 56.22 years female: 58.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
41.59 years male: 41.74 years female: 41.44 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 13.6% male: 20.9% female: 6.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,545 GRT/51,195 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $581 million (2001 est.) | $20 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (1999) | 1.1% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 8,739,982 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,202,608 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 5,380,917 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,190,787 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 398,294 (2002 est.) | males:
108,993 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
noun:
Nigerien(s) adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 815 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR]; Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG] | NA |
Population | 37,090,298 (July 2002 est.) | 10,355,156 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.73% (2002 est.) | 2.72% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 5, FM 5, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 7.55 million (1997) | 680,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 5,995 km
narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line note: the 1.067-m line from Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic; the 0.600-m gauge system serves Sudan's cotton plantations with over 120 collecting stations (2001) |
0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 400,000 (2000) | 16,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 13,000 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 10 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 5.22 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 7.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 5,310 km | 300 km
note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March |