Niger

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    “Patience only”: Coping with hunger in Niger
    Oxfam GB - UK Caroline Gluck meets staff in Niger who are working to help people in the midst of the West Africa food crisis.... More
    Louis Belanger: On the Front Lines of the War Against Hunger in Niger
    The 2009 harvest in Niger produced less than a quarter of the country's annual needs. The period between harvests began in April this year, instead of June. Now half of all Nigeriens do not have enough food.... More
    Mauritania 'mobilises army to counter Qaeda'
    Mauritania has deployed troops across the country and tightened its desert borders against the threat of attacks from Al Qaeda-linked militants, the interior minister said.... More
    Mauritania mobilises army to counter Qaeda
    Interior minister says Mauritanian territory is under control after redeployment of army in country.... More
    France's Sarkozy says will punish Al Qaeda killers
    President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed on Monday to punish al Qaeda's north African wing after confirming the death of a 78-year-old French hostage kidnapped in Niger.... More
    Niger Map

    Latitude: 17.60779 Longtitude: 8.08167

    Location:
    Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

    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

    Terrain:
    predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north

    Geography:
    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

    Capital:
    Niamey

    About Niger
    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 coup by military officers who promptly restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004. 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 predominately Tuareg ethnic group emerged in February 2007, the Nigerien Movement for Justice (MNJ), and attacked several military targets in Niger's northern region throughout 2007. Events have since evolved into a budding insurrection.

    Population:
    13,272,679 (July 2008 est.)

    Language:
    French (official), Hausa, Djerma

    Religion:
    Muslim 80%, other (includes indigenous beliefs and Christian) 20%

    Phone Service:
    inadequate; small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger

    Currency:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

    Climate:
    desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south

    Natural Hazards:
    recurring droughts