Niger, in West Africa's Sahara region, is four-fifths the size of Alaska. It is surrounded by Mali, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. The Niger River in the southwest flows through the country's only fertile area. Elsewhere the land is semiarid.
Country lead by President: Tandja Mamadou (1999)
Prime Minister: Hama Amadou (1999)
Population
12,525,094 (growth rate: 2.9%); birth rate: 50.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 118.2/1000; life expectancy: 43.8; density per sq mi: 26
Land Area
489,072 sq mi (1,266,699 sq km); total area: 489,191 sq mi (1,267,000 sq km)
Monetary unit
CFA Franc Language
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Ethnicity 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
Religion Islam 80%, indigenous beliefs and Christian 20%
Transportation Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 10,100 km; paved: 798 km; unpaved: 9,302 km (1999 est.). Waterways: the Niger is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March. Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 27 (2002).
