Diffa is one of the seven

Regions of Niger Niger is divided into eight regions (French: ''régions;'' singular''région)'', each of which is named after its capital. Current regions *Additionally, the national capital, Niamey, comprises a special capital district. Current administrati ...

, located in the southeast of the country. The capital of the region is

Diffa Diffa is a city and Urban Commune in the extreme southeast of Niger, near the border with Nigeria. It is the administrative seat of both Diffa Region, and the smaller Diffa Department.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. ...

Geography

Diffa Region is situated in the extreme southeast of

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAgadez Region Agadez Region is one of the seven regions of Niger. At , it covers more than half of Niger's land area, and is the largest region in the country, as well as the largest African state subdivision. The capital of the department is Agadez. Histo ...

to the north,

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

to the east,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

to the south, and

Zinder Region Zinder Region is one of the seven regions of Niger; the capital of the region is Zinder. The region covers 145,430 km². It is the most populous province of Niger. History Numerous Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains, as well as cave paintin ...

to the west. The landscape is primarily

Sahelian The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...

in the south, merging into the

Sahara desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

in the north of the region. In the far southeast can be found Niger's portion of

Lake Chad Lake Chad (french: Lac Tchad) is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme, ...

; formerly extending as far west as

N'guigmi N'guigmi is a city and Commune of fifteen thousand in the easternmost part of Niger, very near to Lake Chad – lying on its shore until the lake retreated. It is a crossroads for the traditional camel caravans of the Toureg and for traders p ...

, the lake has shrunk drastically in recent decades.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 227-38 In the southeast the

Komadougou Yobe The Yobe River, also known as the Komadougou Yobe or the Komadougou-Yobe (french: Komadougou Yobé), is a river in West Africa that flows into Lake Chad through Nigeria and Niger. Its tributaries include the Hadejia River, the Jama'are River, ...

river forms part of the border with Nigeria.

Settlements

is the regional capital; other major settlements include Bosso, Chetimari, Dungass, Gueskerou, Goudoumaria, Kablewa, Mainé-Soroa,

N'Gourti N'Gourti is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

, N'Guelbély,

and Toumour.

Administrative subdivisions

Diffa Region is divided into three Departments: *

Diffa Department Diffa is a department of the Diffa Region in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

* Maïne-Soroa Department *

N'guigmi Department N'guigmi is a department of the Diffa Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of N'guigmi N'guigmi is a city and Commune of fifteen thousand in the easternmost part of Niger, very near to Lake Chad – lying on its shore until the la ...

The Region also includes three Urban Communes, a number of Rural Communes, four Cantons, and over twenty ''Groupments'' (administrative councils of nomadic communities). The Urban Communes are

, Maïné-Soroa,

; while the Rural Communes include Bosso,

Chétimari Chetimari is a large village and rural commune in Niger, located along National Highway 1, several kilometres north of the Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya offic ...

, Goudoumaria,

N'gourti N'Gourti is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

, Kabléwa, Nguel beyli, and Gueskérou.

Demographics

The main ethnolinguistic groups in the region are

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

, Kanuri, Bufuma, and

Toubou The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya and northeastern Niger. They live either as herders and nomads or as ...

.Présentation de la région de Diffa: des potentialités naturelles considérables
Abdou Saïdou, Le Sahel (Niamey). 17 December 2009

Refugees

Refugees from Nigeria fleeing violence from Boko Haram are living with local populations in the Diffa Region. As of 11 June 11, 2014, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimated that as many as 1,000 refugees a week were crossing the border into Diffa region; four out of five are women and girls. By October 2015 the number of Nigerian refugees in the region had risen to at least 150,000. After a lull in the fighting in 2017-18, violence increased in 2019, further worsening an already fragile security situation.

Economy

The economy of Diffa Region is primarily agricultural, based upon pastoralism and farming. The major crop, grown both for subsistence and sale, is

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

, especially drought-tolerant varieties. One third of arable land is devoted to farming: almost 105,000 hectares farmed of the 299,500 hectares of arable land. Areas of the east and south also grow

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

. Irrigation in the valleys around Maïné-Soroa make this possible, as does the edge of

(3,000 km² in the far east) and the seasonal

river valley in the south, which forms around 150 km of the border with

. Despite this the Diffa Region is among the most unproductive agricultural areas in Niger, and all of West Africa, making it especially vulnerable to drought and famine.

References

* Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article :fr:Diffa (région), 2008-06-19. * *
The Wodaabe Of Southeastern Niger
In Nikolaus Schareika. Ecological Knowledge And Herd Movement Strategies Among The Wodaabe Of Southeastern Niger. Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz/The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2003)

External links

Diffa/Niger : Map of attacks by Boko Haram (as of 04 October 2015)
{{Authority control Regions of Niger