"text":"Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999, BARE was killed in a counter coup by military officers who restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and in 2009 spearheaded a constitutional amendment allowing him to extend his term as president. In February 2010, military officers led a coup that deposed TANDJA and suspended the constitution. ISSOUFOU Mahamadou was elected in April 2011 following the coup and reelected to a second term in early 2016. 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. A Tuareg rebellion emerged in 2007 and ended in 2009. Niger is facing increased security concerns on its borders from various external threats including insecurity in Libya, spillover from the conflict in Mali, and violent extremism in northeastern Nigeria."
"text":"overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction"
"text":"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"
"text":"Niger has the highest total fertility rate (TFR) of any country in the world, averaging close to 7 children per woman in 2016. A slight decline in fertility over the last few decades has stalled. This leveling off of the high fertility rate is in large part a product of the continued desire for large families. In Niger, the TFR is lower than the desired fertility rate, which makes it unlikely that contraceptive use will increase. The high TFR sustains rapid population growth and a large youth population – almost 70% of the populace is under the age of 25. Gender inequality, including a lack of educational opportunities for women and early marriage and childbirth, also contributes to high population growth. Because of large family sizes, children are inheriting smaller and smaller parcels of land. The dependence of most Nigeriens on subsistence farming on increasingly small landholdings, coupled with declining rainfall and the resultant shrinkage of arable land, are all preventing food production from keeping up with population growth. For more than half a century, Niger's lack of economic development has led to steady net outmigration. In the 1960s, Nigeriens mainly migrated to coastal West African countries to work on a seasonal basis. Some headed to Libya and Algeria in the 1970s to work in the booming oil industry until its decline in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, the principal destinations for Nigerien labor migrants have been West African countries, especially Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire, while emigration to Europe and North America has remained modest. During the same period, Niger’s desert trade route town Agadez became a hub for West African and other sub-Saharan migrants crossing the Sahara to North Africa and sometimes onward to Europe. More than 60,000 Malian refugees have fled to Niger since violence between Malian government troops and armed rebels began in early 2012. Ongoing attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, dating to 2013 in northern Nigeria and February 2015 in southeastern Niger, have pushed tens of thousands of Nigerian refugees and Nigerien returnees across the border to Niger and to displace thousands of locals in Niger’s already impoverished Diffa region."
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 February 2016 and 20 March 2016 (next to be held in 2021); prime minister appointed by the president, authorized by the National Assembly"
"text":"unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (171 seats; 158 members directly elected from 8 multi-member constituencies in 7 regions and Niamey by party-list proportional representation, 8 reserved for minorities elected in special single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 5 seats reserved for Nigeriens living abroad - l seat per continent - elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the number of National Assembly seats increased from 113 to 171 in the February 2016 legislative election"
"text":"Constitutional Court (consists of 7 judges); High Court of Justice (consists of 7 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Constitutional Court judges nominated/elected - 1 by the president of the Republic, 1 by the president of the National Assembly, 2 by peer judges, 2 by peer lawyers, 1 law professor by peers, and 1 from within Nigerien society; all appointed by the president; judges serve 6-year nonrenewable terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years; High Judicial Court members selected from among the legislature and judiciary; members serve 5-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Court of Cassation; Council of State; Court of Finances; various specialized tribunals and customary courts"
"text":"Alliance of Movements for the Emergence of Niger or AMEN AMIN [Omar Hamidou TCHIANA] ++ Congress for the Republic or CPR-Inganci [Kassoum MOCTAR] ++ Democratic Alliance for Niger or ADN-Fusaha [Habi Mahamadou SALISSOU] ++ Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Abdou LABO] ++ National Movement for the Development of Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Seini OUMAROU] ++ Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moussa Moumouni DJERMAKOYE] ++ Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation or MODEN/FA Lumana [Hama AMADOU] ++ Nigerien Movement for Democratic Renewal or MNRD-Hankuri [Mahamane OUSMANE] ++ Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Mahamadou ISSOUFOU] ++ Nigerien Patriotic Movement or MPN-Kishin Kassa [Ibrahim YACOUBA] ++ Party for Socialism and Democracy in Niger or PSDN-Alheri ++ Patriotic Movement for the Republic or MPR-Jamhuriya [Albade ABOUBA] ++ Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a or RDP-Jama'a [Hamid ALGABID] ++ Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Amadou CHEIFFOU] ++ Social Democratic Party or PSD-Bassira [Mohamed BEN OMAR] ++ Union for Democracy and the Republic-Tabbat or UDR-Tabbat [Amadou Boubacar CISSE]",
"text":"Ambassador Hassana ALIDOU (since 23 February 2015)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 483-3169"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Eunice S. REDDICK (since 12 September 2014)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"BP 11201, Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"2420 Niamey Place, Washington DC 20521-2420"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[227] 20-73-31-69 or [227] 20-72-39-41"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[227] 20-73-55-60"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk centered in the white band; the orange band denotes the drier northern regions of the Sahara; white stands for purity and innocence; green symbolizes hope and the fertile and productive southern and western areas, as well as the Niger River; the orange disc represents the sun and the sacrifices made by the people",
"note":{
"text":"similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band"
}
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"zebu; national colors: orange, white, green"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"La Nigerienne\" (The Nigerien)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Maurice Albert THIRIET/Robert JACQUET and Nicolas Abel Francois FRIONNET"
"text":"Niger is a landlocked, sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Agriculture contributes nearly 40% of GDP and provides livelihood for most of the population. The UN ranked Niger as the least developed country in the world in 2015 due to multiple factors such as food insecurity, lack of industry, high population growth, a weak educational sector, and few prospects for work outside of subsistence farming and herding. ++ ++ Since 2011 public debt has increased due to efforts to scale-up public investment, particularly that related to infrastructure. The government relies on foreign donor resources for a large portion of its fiscal budget. The economy in recent years has been hurt by terrorist activity and kidnappings near its uranium mines and by instability in Mali and in the Diffa region of the country; concerns about security have resulted in increased support from regional and international partners on defense. Low uranium prices, demographics, and security expenditures may continue to put pressure on the government’s finances. ++ ++ Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Although Niger has sizable reserves of oil, the profitability of these commodities has been called in to question due to the prolonged drop in oil prices. Food insecurity and drought remain perennial problems for Niger, and the government plans to invest a little more in the agriculture sector, most notably irrigation. Niger’s three-year $131 million IMF Extended Credit Facility agreement for years 2012-15 was extended until the end of 2016, although formal private sector investment needed for economic diversification and growth remains a challenge, given the country’s limited domestic markets, access to credit, and competitiveness."
"text":"combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains only about 50 per 100 persons despite a rapidly increasing cellular subscribership base; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned"
"text":"state-run TV station; 3 private TV stations provide a mix of local and foreign programming; state-run radio has only radio station with national coverage; about 30 private radio stations operate locally; as many as 100 community radio stations broadcast; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007)"
"text":"Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Nigerien Air Force (Force Aerienne du Niger) (2012)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18 is the presumed legal minimum age for compulsory or voluntary military service; enlistees must be Nigerien citizens and unmarried; 2-year service term; women may serve in health care (2012)"
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"1.06% of GDP (2012) ++ NA% (2011) ++ 1.06% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute in the Tommo region; location of Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint is unresolved; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty that also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries; the dispute with Burkina Faso was referred to the ICJ in 2010"
"text":"137,337 (unknown how many of the 11,000 people displaced by clashes between government forces and the Tuareg militant group, Niger Movement for Justice, in 2007 are still displaced; inter-communal violence; Boko Haram attacks in southern Niger, 2015) (2015)"
