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Niger is a West African country. Covering the southern
part of the Sahara desert and the Sahel strip, the
country owes its name to the Niger River, which flows
through it in the Southwest. It borders Algeria to the
north, Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria
and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso to the southwest,
and Mali to the west. It occupies an area of 1,267,000
km2. The main cities are Niamey, the capital,
with 774 900 inhabitants (2004), Zinder (209 100
inhab.), Maradi (195 400 inhab.), Tahoua (99 900 inhab.)
And Agadez (29 400 inhab.). The climate of Niger is
desert in the north, semi-desert in the center and dry
tropical in the south. It is one of the warmest
countries in the world, with extremely high temperatures
throughout the year.
Economy
Niger has an agricultural sector on its way to
self-sufficiency, through irrigation programs that
compensate for the usual drought periods experienced
throughout the year. The production of corn, sorghum,
cassava, sugar cane and rice fills agricultural
activity. Livestock breeding also plays an important
role in this sector.
The industrial activity has its strength in the
exploration and treatment of uranium (of which it is a
major world producer), complemented by the extraction of
ores such as lime stone, plaster, copper and
titanium. There is also a need to consider the
manufacturing industries that are dedicated to the
treatment of chemicals, food products, textiles and
agricultural equipment. Finally, it should be noted that
Niger uses the ports of Cotonou (Benin) and Lagos
(Nigeria), which are connected to Niger, not by railways
(nonexistent in that country), but only by
roads. Niger's main trading partners are France, Côte
d'Ivoire, the United Kingdom and China.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide
emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is
0.1.
Population
In 2006, Niger had 12 525 094 inhabitants, which
corresponded to a population density of 9 inhab./km2 ,
a very low figure, partly resulting from the climatic
conditions that are felt throughout the territory. The
birth and death rates are, respectively, 50.73% and
20.91%. Average life expectancy is 43.76 years. The
value of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.292 and
the value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG)
is 0.279 (2001). It is estimated that, in 2025, the
population will be 18 777 000 inhabitants. The main
ethnic groups are the Hausa (53%), the Zerma-Songhai
(21%), the Tuareg (10%) and the Fulas (10%). In
religious terms, Sunni Muslims represent 89% of the
population, while followers of traditional beliefs are
11%. The official language is French.
History
Niger finds its roots in the kingdoms of Takedda
(located in the west of the territory) and Bornu
(located in the east), established at the beginning of
the second millennium d. C. However, these kingdoms were
dismantled in the 15th century by Moroccan military
expeditions, but it would be the Tuareg people who took
advantage of the chaos resulting from these initiatives,
taking over the entire region.
French colonization started in 1889 but, due to the
strong resistance shown by the natives, it was not until
1922 that France managed to create favorable conditions
for the establishment of a civil administration. When,
in 1946, Niger received the status of French overseas
territory, local consultative and legislative assemblies
were created, which favor the social rise of members of
the Songhai-Zerma (French-speaking) ethnic group, which
proved to be the most receptive to European
influences.. It was not surprising, therefore, that the
first local administrator, appointed in 1957, was Djibo
Bakary, leader of that ethnic group.
Independence was only declared on August 3, 1960,
after a referendum in 1958, the results of which
dictated the establishment of a statute of autonomy for
Niger, although it remained linked to France. Hamani
Diori, Bakary's successor and cousin, who led the
independence process, established a dictatorial regime
that would be replaced by another dictatorship, this one
with military characteristics, through a coup d'état
that took place in 1974. Only in 1993 were the first
multiparty elections, which gave victory to the Social
Democratic Convention (a coalition of nine political
parties), led by Mahamane Ousmane.
The year 1994 brought some social instability to the
country, provoked by the armed Tuareg rebellion in the
North of Niger due to the great difficulty of this
nomadic people to adapt to the creation of
borders. However, the government managed to establish
diplomatic channels that had the corollary of signing a
peace agreement on 9 October of that year, in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which established an area
reserved for 750 000 Tuaregs in the north of the
country, endowed with regional autonomy.
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