|
Basic Facts |
Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Gevernment type | republic |
Capital |
name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States (BCEAO) |
Internet country code | .ne |
Ports and terminals | none |
Agriculture products | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Industries | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Geography |
Location | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Coordinates | 16 00 N, 8 00 E |
Continent | Africa |
Area |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
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 |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
Climate | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Terrain | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Natural resources | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts |
People |
Population | 12,525,094 (July 2006 est.) |
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 |
Religions | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
Languages | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |