Difference between revisions of "Niger" - New World Encyclopedia

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The government embarked on an ambitious program to privatize 12 state-owned companies and is  taking actions to reduce corruption. As the result of a participatory process encompassing civil society, Niger has devised a Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan that focuses on improving health, primary education, rural infrastructure, agricultural production, environmental protection, and judicial reform.
 
The government embarked on an ambitious program to privatize 12 state-owned companies and is  taking actions to reduce corruption. As the result of a participatory process encompassing civil society, Niger has devised a Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan that focuses on improving health, primary education, rural infrastructure, agricultural production, environmental protection, and judicial reform.
  
In 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief, which significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. Nearly half the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have recovered somewhat in the last few years.
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In 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief, which significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. Nearly half the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. In 2006 it qualified for the U.S. aid program under the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which will support efforts to fight corruption and increase girls' access to primary education. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have recovered somewhat in the last few years.
  
 
A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigeriens.  
 
A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigeriens.  
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===Agriculture===
 
===Agriculture===
Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of 82 percent of the population. Fourteen percent of Niger's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated by livestock production—[[camels]], [[domestic_goat|goats]], [[domestic sheep|sheep]], and [[cattle]]—said to support 29 percent of the population. The 15 percent of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern borders with Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Rainfall varies and, when insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements. Millet, sorghum, and cassava are Niger's principal rain-fed subsistence crops. Cowpeas and onions are grown for commercial export, as are limited quantities of garlic, peppers, [[gum arabic]], and sesame seeds.
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Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of 82 percent of the population. Fourteen percent of Niger's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated by livestock production—[[camels]], [[domestic_goat|goats]], [[domestic sheep|sheep]], and [[cattle]]—said to support 29 percent of the population. The 15 percent of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern borders with Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Rainfall varies and, when insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements.  
  
 
===Exports===
 
===Exports===
Of Niger's exports, foreign exchange earnings from livestock, although difficult to quantify, are second only to those from uranium.  
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Of Niger's exports, foreign exchange earnings from livestock are second only to those from uranium. Niger's two uranium mines are owned by a French-led consortium and operated by French interests. When the uranium-led boom ended in the early 1980s, the economy stagnated, and new investment since then has been limited.  
  
Niger's two uranium mines are owned by a French-led consortium and operated by French interests. When the uranium-led boom ended in the early 1980s, the economy stagnated, and new investment since then has been limited.
+
Exploitable deposits of [[gold]] are known to exist in the region between the Niger River and the border with [[Burkina Faso]]. Commercial gold production began in 2004. Substantial deposits of [[phosphates]], [[coal]], [[iron]], [[limestone]], and [[gypsum]] also have been found. Oil exploration is ongoing.  
 
 
Exploitable deposits of [[gold]] are known to exist in Niger in the region between the Niger River and the border with [[Burkina Faso]]. Commercial gold production began in 2004.  
 
Substantial deposits of [[phosphates]], [[coal]], [[iron]], [[limestone]], and [[gypsum]] also have been found. Oil exploration is ongoing.  
 
  
 
In recent years, the government drafted revisions to the investment, petroleum, and mining codes, offering attractive terms for investors. The present government actively seeks foreign private investment, considering it key to restoring economic growth and development.
 
In recent years, the government drafted revisions to the investment, petroleum, and mining codes, offering attractive terms for investors. The present government actively seeks foreign private investment, considering it key to restoring economic growth and development.
  
===Foreign aid===
 
 
The importance of external support for Niger's development is demonstrated by the fact that about 45% of the government's FY 2002 budget, including 80% of its capital budget, derived from donor resources. The most important donors in Niger are [[France]], the [[European Union]], the [[World Bank]], the [[IMF]], and [[UN]] agencies—UNDP, UNICEF, FAO, WFP, and UNFPA. Other donors include the [[United States]], [[Belgium]], [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], [[Japan]], [[China]], [[Italy]], [[Libya]], [[Egypt]], [[Morocco]], [[Iran]], [[Denmark]], [[Canada]], and [[Saudi Arabia]]. While the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) does not have an office in Niger, the United States is a major donor, contributing on average $8 million each year to Niger’s development increasing to $12 million in FY 2004. The United States also is a major partner in policy coordination in food security, education, water management and HIV/AIDS sectors.
 
  
80% of people in Niger are employed.{{fact}}
 
  
 
==Foreign relations==
 
==Foreign relations==

Revision as of 18:12, 23 November 2006


République du Niger
Republic of Niger
Flag of Niger Coat of arms of Niger
Motto"Fraternité, Travail, Progrès"  (French]
"Fraternity, Work, Progress"
Anthem: La Nigerienne
Location of Niger
Capital
(and largest city)
Niamey
13°32′N 2°05′E
Official languages French
Government Parliamentary democracy
 -  President {{{leader_name1}}}
 -  Tandja Mamadou Hama Amadou
Independence from France 
 -  Declared August 3 1960 
Area
 -  Total 1,267,000 km² (22nd)
489,189 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 0.02
Population
 -  July 2005 estimate 13,957,000 (64th)
GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
 -  Total $10.951 billion (132nd)
 -  Per capita $872 (171st)
Currency CFA franc (XOF)
Time zone West Africa Time (UTC+1)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+1)
Internet TLD .ne
Calling code +227

Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked sub-Saharan country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Listed by the United Nations as one of the poorest nations,in 2006 it qualified for special U.S. aid because the government had demonstrated a commitment to reform. Though rich in minerals, the country is two-thirds desert and prone to droughts. Inadequate nutrition and disease result in high infant and child mortality rates. The extreme poverty also allows slavery to persist, despite being prohibited in the 1990 constitution.

History

Niger was an important economic crossroad, and the empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, as well as a number of Hausa states, claimed control over portions of the area.

During recent centuries, the nomadic Tuareg formed large confederations, pushed southward, and, siding with various Hausa states, clashed with the Fulani Empire of Sokoto, which had gained control of much of the Hausa territory in the late eighteenth century.

In the nineteenth century, contact with the West began when the first European explorers explored the area, searching for the source of the Niger River. Although French efforts at pacification began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony.

Gradually France granted limited local participation in political institutions, then a large measure of self-government. In 1958, Niger became an autonomous state within the French Community, and it reached full independence on August 3, 1960.

For its first fourteen years as an independent state, Niger was run by a single-party civilian regime under the presidency of Hamani Diori. In 1974, a combination of devastating drought and accusations of rampant corruption resulted in a military coup. Col. Seyni Kountché and a small military group ruled the country until Kountché's death in 1987. He was succeeded by Col. Ali Saibou, who released political prisoners, liberalized some of Niger's laws and policies, and promulgated a new constitution. However, President Saibou's efforts to control political reforms failed in the face of union and student demands to institute a multi-party democratic system. He gave in to these demands in 1990. New political parties and civic associations sprang up, and a national conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. A transition government was installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put into place in 1993.

Rivalries within a ruling coalition elected in 1993 led to governmental paralysis, which provided Col. Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara a rationale to overthrow the Third Republic in 1996. Baré organized a presidential election in 1996. While voting was still going on, he replaced the electoral commission, and the new commission declared him the winner. When his efforts to justify his coup and subsequent questionable elections failed to convince donors to restore economic assistance, a desperate Baré ignored an international embargo against Libya and sought Libyan funds to aid Niger's economy. In repeated violations of basic civil liberties by the regime, opposition leaders were imprisoned; journalists often arrested, beaten, and deported by an unofficial militia composed of police and military; and independent media offices were looted and burned with impunity.

However, the government signed peace accords in April 1995 with all Tuareg and Toubou groups that had been in rebellion since 1990, claiming lack of attention and resources from the central government. The government agreed to absorb some former rebels into the military and, with French assistance, help others return to a productive civilian life.

In 1999, Baré was killed in a coup led by Maj. Daouda Malam Wanké, who established a transitional National Reconciliation Council to oversee the drafting of a constitution for a Fifth Republic with a French-style semi-presidential system. In votes that international observers found to be generally free and fair, the Nigerien electorate approved the new constitution in July 1999 and held legislative and presidential elections in October and November 1999. Heading a coalition of the National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD) and the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS), Mamadou Tandja won the presidency.

In July 2004, Niger held municipal elections nationwide as part of its decentralization process. Some 3,700 people were elected to new local governments in 265 newly established communes. The ruling MNSD won more positions than any other political party, but opposition parties made significant gains.

In November and December 2004, Niger held presidential and legislative elections. Mamadou Tandja was elected to his second five-year presidential term with 65 percent of the vote in an election that international observers called generally free and fair. This was the first presidential election with a democratically elected incumbent.

In the 2004 legislative elections, the coalition that backed Tandja won 88 of the 113 seats in the National Assembly.

The 2005 Niger food crisis struck the country in the wake of drought and locust attacks the previous year.

Politics

File:Mamadou Tandja 2005.jpg
Mamadou Tandja, current President of the National Assembly of Niger.

Niger's 1999 constitution restored a semi-presidential system of government in which the president, elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a prime minister named by the president share executive power. As a reflection of Niger's increasing population, the unicameral National Assembly was expanded in 2004 to 113 deputies elected for a five-year term under a majority system of representation. Political parties must attain at least 5 percent of the vote to gain a seat in the legislature.

Niger's independent judicial system is composed of four higher courts—the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice, and the Constitutional Court.

The constitution also provides for the popular election of municipal and local officials, and the first-ever successful municipal elections took place in July The country is currently divided into eight regions, which are subdivided into 36 districts (departments) and further subdivided into 129 communes. The chief administrator (governor) in each department is appointed by the government and functions primarily as the local agent of the central authorities.


The fertile south of Niger near the river delta.

Geography

Map of Niger

Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north, and Chad to the east. Niger is slightly less than twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas, and the world's twenty-second largest country (after Chad).

Niger's subtropical climate is mainly very hot and dry, with much desert area. In the extreme south the climate is tropical on the edges of the Niger River basin. The terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes, with flat to rolling savannah in the south and hills in the north.

Economy

Niamey, Niger's capital and economic hub.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Index. Its economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 2.9 percent population growth rate, and a drop in world demand for uranium have undercut the economy.

Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with other members of the West African Monetary Union.

The government embarked on an ambitious program to privatize 12 state-owned companies and is taking actions to reduce corruption. As the result of a participatory process encompassing civil society, Niger has devised a Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan that focuses on improving health, primary education, rural infrastructure, agricultural production, environmental protection, and judicial reform.

In 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief, which significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. Nearly half the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. In 2006 it qualified for the U.S. aid program under the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which will support efforts to fight corruption and increase girls' access to primary education. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have recovered somewhat in the last few years.

A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigeriens.

Slavery

Slavery has existed since pre-colonial times. The French tried to eliminate the slave markets, but the system persisted, even after being banned in the 1999 constitution. Primarily the slaves herd cattle or do agricultural or domestic work. They are not permitted to vote, and their children are born into slavery. An estimated 43,000 people were slaves in 2003, when the government added stronger sentences to the penal code, hoping to end the practice.

Agriculture

Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of 82 percent of the population. Fourteen percent of Niger's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated by livestock production—camels, goats, sheep, and cattle—said to support 29 percent of the population. The 15 percent of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern borders with Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. Rainfall varies and, when insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements.

Exports

Of Niger's exports, foreign exchange earnings from livestock are second only to those from uranium. Niger's two uranium mines are owned by a French-led consortium and operated by French interests. When the uranium-led boom ended in the early 1980s, the economy stagnated, and new investment since then has been limited.

Exploitable deposits of gold are known to exist in the region between the Niger River and the border with Burkina Faso. Commercial gold production began in 2004. Substantial deposits of phosphates, coal, iron, limestone, and gypsum also have been found. Oil exploration is ongoing.

In recent years, the government drafted revisions to the investment, petroleum, and mining codes, offering attractive terms for investors. The present government actively seeks foreign private investment, considering it key to restoring economic growth and development.


Foreign relations

Niger pursues a moderate foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with the West and the Islamic world as well as nonaligned countries. It belongs to the United Nations and its main specialized agencies. Niger maintains a special relationship with France and enjoys close relations with its West African neighbors.

The border dispute with Benin, inherited from colonial times, was finally solved in 2005 to Niger's advantage.

Demographics

File:Niger-bevoelkerungspyramide.png
Population age of Niger.

The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who also constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the Djerma-Songhai, who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups, along with the Gourmantche, are sedentary farmers who live in the arable, southern tier of the country. The remainder of Nigeriens are nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock-raising peoples—Fulani, Tuareg, Kanuri, Arabs, and Toubou. With rapidly growing populations and the consequent competition for meager natural resources, lifestyles of agriculturalists and livestock herders have come increasingly into conflict in Niger in recent years.

Niger's high infant mortality rate is comparable to levels recorded in neighboring countries. However, the child mortality rate (deaths among children between the ages of 1 and 4) is exceptionally high (248 per 1,000) due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for most of the country's children. According to the organization Save the Children, Niger has the world's highest infant mortality rate [1]. Nonetheless, Niger has the highest fertility rate in the world (7.2 births per woman), which means that nearly half (49%) of the Nigerien population is under age 15. Between 1996 and 2003, primary school attendance was around 30% [2], including 36% of males and only 25% of females. Additional education occurs through madrassas.

Culture

File:Niamey Mosque.jpg
A mosque in Niamey.

Media

Niger started to develop diverse media in the late 1990s. Niamey boasts scores of newspapers and magazines, many of which are fiercely critical of the government.

Radio is the most important medium, as television sets are beyond the buying power of many of the rural poor and illiteracy prevents the print media from becoming a mass medium.

As well as the national and regional radio services of the state broadcaster, there are four privately owned radio networks which total more than 100 stations. They are collectively estimated to cover about 70 percent of the population (2005).

Despite relative freedom at the national level, Nigerien journalists say they are often pressured by local authorities. The state network depends financially on the government.

References
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