Niger: Background & Geography
| Introduction | Niger |
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Background:
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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. |
| Geography | Niger |
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Location:
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Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
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Geographic coordinates:
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16 00 N, 8 00 E |
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total: 1.267 million sq km
water: 300 sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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Land boundaries:
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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 |
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked) |
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Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
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none (landlocked) |
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Climate:
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desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
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Terrain:
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predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m |
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Natural resources:
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uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum |
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Land use:
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arable land: 3.94%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.06% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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660 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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recurring droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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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 |