Etymology
The name comes from the Niger River which flows through the west of the country; a theory about the origin of the river's name is that it comes from the Tuareg languages, Tuareg ''n'eghirren'' meaning 'flowing water'. The pronunciation is the French one of , while in Anglophone media is also used.History
Prehistory
Stone tools, some dating as far back as 280,000 BC, have been found in Adrar Bous, Bilma and Djado in the northern Agadez Region.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 15-22 Some of these finds have been linked with the Aterian and Mousterian tool cultures of the Middle Paleolithic period, which flourished in northern Africa circa 90,000 BC–20,000 BC. It is thought that these humans lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. In prehistoric times the climate of the Sahara was wetter and more fertile, a phenomenon archaeologists refer to as the 'Green Sahara' which provided "favourable" conditions for hunting and later agriculture and livestock herding. The Neolithic era began circa 10,000 BC; this period saw a number of changes, such as the introduction of pottery (as evidenced at Tagalagal, Temet and Tin Ouffadene), the spread of cattle husbandry, and the burying of the dead in stone tumuli. As the climate changed in the period 4000–2800 BC the Sahara gradually began desertification, drying out, forcing a change in settlement patterns to the south and east.NigerEmpires and kingdoms in pre-colonial Niger
By at least the 5th century BC the territory of what later is Niger had become an area of trans-Saharan trade. Led by Tuareg tribes from the north, camels were used as a means of transportation through what is later a desert. Masonen, P:Mali Empire (1200s–1400s)
The Mali Empire was a Mandinka people, Mandinka empire founded by Sundiata Keita (r. 1230–1255) in circa 1230 and existed up to 1600. As detailed in the ''Epic of Sundiata'', Mali emerged as a breakaway region of the Sosso Empire which itself had split from the earlier Ghana Empire. Thereafter Mali defeated the Sosso at the Battle of Kirina in 1235 and then Ghana in 1240. From its heartland around the later Guinea-Mali border region, the empire expanded under successive kings and came to dominate the Trans-Saharan trade routes, reaching its greatest extent during the rule of Mansa Musa (r. 1312–1337). At this point parts of what are now Niger's Tillabéri Region fell under Malian rule. A Muslim, Mansa Musa performed the ''hajj'' in 1324–25 and encouraged the spread of Islam in the empire, and it "appears that most ordinary citizens continued to maintain their traditional animist beliefs instead of or alongside the new religion". The empire began "declining" in the 15th century due to a combination of internecine strife over the royal succession, weak kings, the shift of European trade routes to the coast, and rebellions in the empire's periphery by Mossi people, Mossi, Wolof people, Wolof, Tuareg and Songhai people, Songhai peoples. A rump Mali kingdom continued to exist until 1600s.Songhai Empire (1000s–1591)
The Songhai Empire was named for its main ethnic group, the Songhai people, Songhai or Sonrai, and was centred on the bend of the Niger River in Mali. Songhai began settling this region from the 7th to 9th centuries; by the 11th century Gao (capital of the former Kingdom of Gao) had become the empire's capital.Boubou Hama and M Guilhem, "L’histoire du Niger, de l’Afrique et du Monde"; Edicef, ''Les royaumes Haoussa'', pp. 104–112 From 1000 to 1325, the Songhai Empire managed to maintain peace with the Mali Empire, its neighbour to the west. In 1325 Songhai was conquered by Mali until regaining its independence in 1375. Under king Sonni Ali (r. 1464–1492) Songhai adopted an expansionist policy which reached its apogee during the reign of Askia Mohammad I (r. 1493–1528); at this point the empire had expanded from its Niger-bend heartland, including to the east where most of later western Niger fell under its rule, including Agadez which was conquered in 1496. The empire was unable to withstand repeated attacks from the Saadi dynasty of Morocco and was decisively defeated at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591; it then collapsed into a number of smaller kingdoms.Sultanate of Aïr (1400s–1906)
In c. 1449 in the north of what is now Niger, the Sultanate of Aïr was founded by Sultan Ilisawan, based in Agadez. Formerly a trading post inhabited by a mixture of Hausa and Tuaregs, it grew as a strategic position on the Trans-Saharan trade routes. In 1515 Aïr was conquered by Songhai, remaining a part of that empire until its collapse in 1591. The following centuries, it "seems that the sultanate entered a decline" marked by internecine wars and clan conflicts. When Europeans began exploring the region in the 19th century most of Agadez lay in ruins and was taken over by the French (''see below'').Kanem–Bornu Empire (700s–1700s)
To the east, the Kanem–Bornu Empire dominated the region around Lake Chad for a period. It was founded by the Zaghawa people, Zaghawa around the 8th century and based in Njimi, north-east of the lake. The kingdom gradually expanded, including during the rule of the Sayfawa dynasty which began in c. 1075 under ''Mai'' (king) Hummay. The kingdom reached its greatest extent in the 1200s, partly due to the effort of ''Mai'' Dunama Dibbalemi (r. 1210–1259), and grew "richer" from its control of some Trans-Saharan trade routes; most of eastern and south-eastern Niger, including Bilma and Kaouar, was under Kanem's control in this period. Islam had been introduced to the kingdom by Arab traders from the 11th century, gaining more converts over the following centuries. Attacks by the Bulala people in the 14th century forced Kanem to shift westwards of Lake Chad where it became known as the Bornu Empire ruled from its capital Ngazargamu on what is later the Niger-Nigeria border. Bornu "prospered" during the rule of ''Mai'' Idris Alooma (r. circa 1575–1610) and re-conquered most of the "traditional lands" of Kanem, hence the designation 'Kanem–Bornu' for the empire. By the 17th century and into the 18th the Bornu kingdom had entered a "period of decline", shrinking back to its Lake Chad heartland. Circa 1730–40 a group of Kanuri people, Kanuri settlers led by Mallam Yunus left Kanem and founded the Sultanate of Damagaram, centred on the town of Zinder. The sultanate remained nominally subject to the Borno Empire until the reign of Sultan Tanimoune Dan Souleymane in the 19th century, who declared independence and initiated a phase of expansion. The sultanate managed to resist the advance of the Sokoto Caliphate (''see below''), and was later captured by the French in 1899.The Hausa states and other smaller kingdoms (1400s–1800s)
Between the Niger River and Lake Chad lay Hausa Kingdoms, encompassing the cultural-linguistic area known as Hausaland which straddles what later is the Niger-Nigeria border. The Hausa are thought to be a mixture of autochthonous peoples and migrant peoples from the north and/or east, emerging as a distinct people sometime in the 900s–1400s when the kingdoms were founded. They gradually adopted Islam from the 14th century, and sometimes this existed alongside other religions, developing into syncretic forms; some Hausa groups such as the Azna resisted Islam altogether (the area of Dogondoutchi remains an animist stronghold). The Hausa kingdoms were not a compact entity but several federations of kingdoms more or less independent of one other. Their organisation was hierarchical and somewhat democratic: the Hausa kings were elected by the notables of the country and could be removed by them. The Hausa Kingdoms began as seven states founded, according to the Bayajidda legend, by the six sons of Bawo. Bawo was the only son of the Hausa queen Daurama and Bayajidda or (Abu Yazid according to certain historians) who came from Baghdad. The seven original Hausa states (also referred to as the 'Hausa bakwai') were: Daura Emirate, Daura (state of queen Daurama), Sultanate of Kano, Kano, Rano, Zazzau, Zaria, Gobir, Katsina and Hadejia, Biram. An extension of the legend states that Bawo had a further seven sons with a concubine, who went on to the found the so-called 'Banza (''illegitimate'') Bakwai': Zamfara, Kebbi Emirate, Kebbi, Nupe Kingdom, Nupe, Gwari, Yauri Emirate, Yauri, Ilorin Emirate, Ilorin and Kwararafa. A smaller state not fitting into this scheme was Konni (Hausa state), Konni, centred on Birni-N'Konni. The Fulani (also called Peul, Fulbe etc.), a pastoral people found throughout the Sahel, began migrating to Hausaland during the 1200s–1500s. During the later 18th century some Fulani were unhappy with the syncretic form of Islam practised there; exploiting also the populace's disdain with corruption amongst the Hausa elite, the Fulani scholar Usman Dan Fodio (from Gobir) declared a Fulani jihad, jihad in 1804.H. J. Fisher. The Sahara and Central Sudan. in The Cambridge History of Africa: From C 1600 to C 179. Richard Gray, J. D. Fage, Roland Anthony Oliver, eds. Cambridge University Press, (1975) pp. 134–6 After conquering most of Hausaland (and not the Bornu Kingdom which remained independent) he proclaimed the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809. Some of the Hausa states survived by fleeing south, such as the Katsina who moved to Maradi, Niger, Maradi in the south of what later is Niger. Some of these surviving states harassed the Caliphate and a period of wars and skirmishes commenced, with some states (such as Katsina and Gobir) maintaining independence whereas elsewhere newer ones were formed (such as the Sultanate of Tessaoua). The Caliphate managed to survive until, "fatally weakened" by the invasions of Chad-based warlord Rabih az-Zubayr, it finally fell to the British in 1903, with its lands later being partitioned between Britain and France. Other smaller kingdoms of the period include the Dosso Kingdom, a Zarma people, Zarma polity founded in 1750 which resisted the rule of Hausa and Sokoto states.Colonial (1900–58)
In the 19th century some European explorers travelled in the area of what later is Niger, such as Mungo Park (explorer), Mungo Park (in 1805–06), the Walter Oudney, Oudney-Dixon Denham, Denham-Hugh Clapperton, Clapperton expedition (1822–25), Heinrich Barth (1850–55; with James Richardson (explorer), James Richardson and Adolf Overweg), Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs (1865–67), Gustav Nachtigal (1869–74) and Parfait-Louis Monteil (1890–92). Some European countries already possessed littoral colonies in Africa, and in the latter half of the century they began to turn their eyes towards the interior of the continent. This process, known as the 'Scramble for Africa', culminated in the Berlin Conference, 1885 Berlin conference in which the colonial powers outlined the division of Africa into spheres of influence. As a result of this,Post-colonial (1960–)
Diori years (1960–74)
For its first 14 years as an independent state Niger was run by a single-party civilian regime under the presidency of Hamani Diori. The 1960s saw an expansion of the education system and some limited economic development and industrialisation. Links with France remained, with Diori allowing the development of French-led uranium mining in Arlit and supporting France in the Algerian War. Relations with other African states were mostly "positive", with the exception of Dahomey (Benin), owing to a Benin-Niger border, border dispute. Niger remained a one-party state throughout this period, with Diori surviving a planned coup in 1963 and an assassination attempt in 1965; most of this activity was masterminded by Djibo Bakary's MSA-Sawaba group which had launched an abortive rebellion in 1964. In the 1970s, a combination of economic difficulties, droughts and accusations of rampant corruption and mismanagement of food supplies resulted in a 1974 Nigerien coup d'état, coup d'état that overthrew the Diori regime.First military regime (1974–1991)
The coup had been masterminded by Col. Seyni Kountché and a military group under the name of the ''Conseil Militaire Supreme'', with Kountché going on to rule the country until his death in 1987. The first action of the military government was to address the food crisis. Whilst political prisoners of the Diori regime were released after the coup, political and individual freedoms "in general deteriorated" during this period. There were attempted coups (in 1975, 1976 and 1984) which were thwarted, their instigators being punished. Kountché sought to create a 'development society', funded mostly by the uranium mines in Agadez Region. Parastatal companies were created, infrastructure (building and new roads, schools, health centres) constructed, and there was corruption in government agencies, which Kountché did not hesitate to punish. In the 1980s Kountché began cautiously loosening the grip of the military, with some relaxation of state censorship and attempts made to 'civilianise' the regime. The economic boom ended following the collapse in uranium prices, and International Monetary Fund, IMF-led austerity and privatisation measures provoked opposition by some Nigeriens. In 1985 a Tuareg revolt in Tchintabaraden was suppressed. Kountché died in November 1987 from a brain tumour, and was succeeded by his chief of staff, Col. Ali Saibou who was confirmed as Chief of the Supreme Military Council four days later. Saibou curtailed the most repressive aspects of the Kountché era (such as the secret police and media censorship), and set about introducing a process of political reform under the overall direction of a single party (the ''Mouvement National pour la Société du Développement'', or MNSD). A Second Republic was declared and a new constitution was drawn up, which was adopted following a 1989 Nigerien constitutional referendum, referendum in 1989. General Saibou became the first president of the Second Republic after winning the 1989 Nigerien general election, presidential election on 10 December 1989.Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) ''Elections in Africa: A data handbook'', p685 President Saibou's efforts to control political reforms failed in the face of trade union and student demands to institute a multi-party democracy, multi-party democratic system. On 9 February 1990, a violently repressed student march in Niamey led to the death of three students, which led to increased national and international pressure for further democratic reform. The Saibou regime acquiesced to these demands by the end of 1990. Meanwhile, trouble re-emerged in Agadez Region when a group of armed Tuaregs attacked the town of Tchintabaraden (seen by some as the start of the first Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995), Tuareg Rebellion), prompting a military crackdown which led to deaths (the precise numbers are disputed, with estimates ranging from 70 to up to 1,000).National Conference and Third Republic (1991–1996)
The National Sovereign Conference of 1991 brought about multi-party democracy. From 29 July to 3 November, a national conference gathered together all elements of society to make recommendations for the future direction of the country. The conference was presided over by Prof. André Salifou and developed a plan for a transitional government; this was then installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put into place in April 1993. After the National Sovereign Conference, the transitional government drafted a constitution that eliminated the previous single-party system of the 1989 Constitution and guaranteed more freedoms. The new constitution was adopted by a 1992 Nigerien constitutional referendum, referendum on 26 December 1992. Following this, presidential 1993 Nigerien parliamentary election, elections were held and Mahamane Ousmane became the first president of the Third Republic on 27 March 1993. Ousmane's presidency saw four government changes and legislative 1995 Nigerien parliamentary election, elections in 1995, and an economic slump. The violence in Agadez Region continued during this period, prompting the Nigerien government to sign a truce with Tuareg rebels in 1992 which was ineffective owing to internal dissension within the Tuareg ranks. Another rebellion, led by dissatisfied Toubou peoples claiming that, like the Tuareg, the Nigerien government had neglected their region, broke out in the east of the country. In April 1995 a peace deal with a Tuareg rebel group was signed, with the government agreeing to absorb some former rebels into the military and, with French assistance, help others return to a productive civilian life.Second military regime and third military regime (1996–1999)
The governmental paralysis prompted the military to intervene; on 27 January 1996, Col. Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara led a 1996 Nigerien coup d'état, coup that deposed President Ousmane and ended the Third Republic.Kaye WhitemanFifth Republic (1999–2009)
After winning the election in November 1999, President Tandja Mamadou was sworn in office on 22 December 1999 as the first president of the Fifth Republic. Mamadou brought about administrative and economic reforms that had been halted due to the military coups since the Third Republic, and helped peacefully resolve a decades-long boundary dispute with Benin. In August 2002, unrest within military camps occurred inFourth military regime (2009–2010)
In 2009, President Tandja Mamadou decided to organize a constitutional referendum seeking to 2009–2010 Nigerien constitutional crisis, extend his presidency, which was opposed by other political parties, and being against the decision of the Constitutional Court which had ruled that the referendum would be unconstitutional. Mamadou then modified and adopted a new constitution by referendum, which was declared illegal by the Constitutional Court, prompting Mamadou to dissolve the Court and assume emergency powers.Niger president rules by decree after court snubSeventh Republic (2010–)
Following the adoption of a constitution in 2010 and 2011 Nigerien general election, presidential elections a year later, Mahamadou Issoufou was elected as the first president of the Seventh Republic; he was then 2016 Nigerien general election, re-elected in 2016. The constitution restored the semi-presidential system which had been abolished a year earlier. An attempted coup against him in 2011 was thwarted and its ringleaders arrested. Issoufou's time in office has been marked by threats to the country's security, stemming from the fallout from the Libyan Civil War and Northern Mali conflict, a rise in attacks by AQIM, the use of Niger as a transit country for migrants (sometimes organised by criminal gangs), and the spillover of Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgency into south-eastern Niger. French and American forces are assisting Niger in countering these threats. On 27 December 2020, Nigeriens 2020–21 Nigerien general election, went to the polls after Issoufou announced he would step down, paving the way to a peaceful transition of power. No candidate won an absolute majority in the vote:Geography
It is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan Africa, 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. It lies between latitudes 11th parallel north, 11° and 24th parallel north, 24°N, and longitudes prime meridian, 0° and 16th meridian east, 16°E. Its area is of which is water. This makes it less than twice the size ofClimate
The hotter and drier climate with desert area causes more frequent fires in some regions. In the south there is a tropical climate on the edges of the Niger River basin. The terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes, with flat to rolling savanna in the south and hills in the north.Biodiversity
The territory of Niger contains five terrestrial ecoregions: Sahelian Acacia savanna, West Sudanian savanna, Lake Chad flooded savanna, South Saharan steppe and woodlands, and West Saharan montane xeric woodlands. The north is covered by deserts and semi-deserts. The typical mammal fauna consists of addax antelopes, scimitar-horned oryx, gazelles, and in the mountains, Barbary sheep. The Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve was founded in the northern parts to protect these species. The southern parts are naturally dominated savannahs. The W National Park, situated in the bordering area to Burkina Faso and Benin, belongs to "one of the most important areas" for wildlife in Western Africa, which is called the WAP (W–Arli National Park, Arli–Pendjari National Park, Pendjari) Complex. It has a population of the West African lion and one of the last populations of the Northwest African cheetah. Other wildlife includes elephants, buffaloes, roan antelopes, Kob, kob antelopes and warthogs. The West African giraffe is found in the further north where it has its last relict population. Environmental issues include destructive farming practices as a result of population pressure, illegal hunting, bush fires in some areas and human encroachment upon the flood plains of the Niger River for paddy cultivation. Dams constructed on the Niger River in the neighboring countries of Mali and Guinea and within Niger are cited as a reason for a reduction of water flow in the Niger River—which has a direct effect upon the environment. A "lack of adequate staff" to guard wildlife in the parks and reserves is another factor cited for loss of wildlife. Farmer-managed natural regeneration is practiced since 1983 to increase food and timber production, and Resilience (ecology), resilience to Extremes on Earth, climate extremes.Governance and politics
Niger's new constitution was approved on 31 October 2010. It restored the semi-presidential system of government of the 1999 constitution (Fifth Republic) in which the president of the republic, elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term, and a prime minister named by the president share executive power. On 26 May 2009, President Tandja dissolved parliament after the country's constitutional court ruled against plans to hold a referendum on whether to allow him a third term in office. According to the constitution, a new parliament was elected within three months. This began a political struggle between Tandja, trying to extend his term-limited authority beyond 2009 through the establishment of a Sixth Republic, and his opponents who demanded that he step down at the end of his second term in December 2009. See 2009 Nigerien constitutional crisis. The military took over the country and President Tandja was put in prison, charged with corruption. The military kept their promise to return the country to democratic civilian rule. A constitutional referendum and national elections were held. A presidential election was held on 31 January 2011, but as no clear winner emerged, run-off elections were held on 12 March 2011. Mahamadou Issoufou of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism was elected president. A parliamentary election was held at the same time.Foreign relations
Niger pursues a moderate foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with the West and the Islamic world as well as non-aligned countries. It belongs to the UN and its main specialized agencies and in 1980–81 served on the UN Security Council. Niger maintains a special relationship with former colonial power France and has close relations with its West African neighbors. It is a charter member of the African Union and the West African Monetary Union and also belongs to the Niger Basin Authority and Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Economic Community of West African States, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). The westernmost regions of Niger are joined with contiguous regions of Mali and Burkina Faso under the Liptako-Gourma Authority. The border dispute with Benin, inherited from colonial times and concerning inter alia Lété Island in the Niger River, was solved by the International Court of Justice in 2005 to Niger's advantage.Military
The Niger Armed Forces (Forces armées nigériennes) are the military and paramilitary forces of Niger, under the president as supreme commander. They consist of the Niger Army (Armée de Terre), the Niger Air Force (Armée de l'Air) and the auxiliary paramilitary forces, such as the Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) and the National Guard of Niger, National Guard (Garde Nationale). Both paramilitary forces are trained in military fashion and have some military responsibilities in wartime. In peace time their duties are mostly policing duties. The armed forces are composed of approximately 12,900 personnel, including 3,700 Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger), gendarmes, 3200 National Guard of Niger, national guards, 300 air force personnel, and 6,000 army personnel. The armed forces of Niger have been involved several military coups over the years with the most recent in 2010. Niger's armed forces have a long history of military cooperation with France and the United States. , Niamey is home to a U.S. drone base.Judicial system
The current Judiciary of Niger was established with the creation of the Fourth Republic in 1999. The constitution of December 1992 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996 and, again, by referendum, revised to the current version on 18 July 1999. It is based on the Code Napoleon "''Inquisitorial system''", established in Niger during French colonial rule and the 1960 Constitution of Niger. The Court of Appeals reviews questions of fact and law, while the Supreme Court reviews application of the law and constitutional questions. The High Court of Justice (HCJ) deals with cases involving senior government officials. The justice system also includes civil criminal courts, customary courts, traditional mediation, and a military court.Niger:Système judiciaireLaw enforcement
Law enforcement in Niger is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense through the Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger), National Gendarmerie and the Ministry of the Interior through the National Police (Niger), National Police and the National Guard of Niger, National Guard. The National Police (Niger), National Police is primarily responsible for law enforcement in urban areas. Outside big cities and in rural areas, this responsibility falls on the Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger), National Gendarmerie and the National Guard of Niger, National Guard.Government finance
Government finance is derived revenue exports (Mining, oil and agricultural exports) as well as various forms of taxes collected by the government. In the past, foreign aid has contributed to large percentages of the budget. In 2013, Niger's government has adopted a zero-deficit budget of 1.279 trillion CFA francs ($2.53 billion) which is claimed to balance revenues and expenditures by an 11% reduction in the budget from the previous year. The 2014 budget was 1.867 trillion CFA which is distributed as follows according to: public debt (76,703,692,000 CFA), personnel expenditures (210,979,633,960 CFA), operating expenditures (128,988,777,711 CFA); subsidies and transfers: 308,379,641,366 CFA) and Investment (1,142,513,658,712 CFA).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, derives from donor resources.Background Notes for Niger: January 2009Administrative divisions
Niger is divided into 7 Regions of Niger, Regions and one capital district. These Regions are subdivided into 36 Departments of Niger, departments. The 36 Departments are currently broken down into Communes of varying types. there were 265 communes, including communes urbaines (Urban Communes: as subdivisions of major cities), communes rurales (Rural Communes), in sparsely populated areas and postes administratifs (Administrative Posts) for largely uninhabited desert areas or military zones. Rural communes may contain official villages and settlements, while Urban Communes are divided into quarters. Niger subvisions were renamed in 2002, in the implementation of a decentralisation project, first begun in 1998. Previously, Niger was divided into 7 Departments, 36 Arrondissements, and Communes. These subdivisions were administered by officials appointed by the national government. These offices will be replaced in the future by democratically elected councils at each level. The ''pre-2002'' departments (renamed as regions) and capital district are: * Agadez Region * Diffa Region * Dosso Region * Maradi Region * Tahoua Region * Tillabéri Region * Zinder Region *Largest cities and towns
Economy
The economy of Niger centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 2.9% population growth rate, and the 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 seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. Niger is also a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund program for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund for Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative 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. In December 2005, it was announced that Niger had received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately US$86 million in debts to the IMF, excluding the remaining assistance under HIPC. Nearly half of 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. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigeriens.Demographics
, the population of Niger was . Expanding from a population of 3.4 million in 1960, Niger's population has rapidly increased with a current growth rate of 3.3% (7.1 children per mother). ''Annuaires Statistiques du Niger 2007–2011''Urban settlements
Ethnic groups
As in most West African countries, Niger has a wide variety of ethnic groups. The ethnic makeup of Niger in 2001 was as follows: Hausa people, Hausa (55.4%), Zarma people, Zarma & Songhay people (subgroup), Songhay (21%), Tuareg people, Tuareg (9.3%), Fula people, Fula (french: Peuls; ff, Fulɓe) (8.5%), Kanuri people, Kanuri Manga (4.7%), Tubu people, Tubu (0.4%), Diffa Arabs, Arab (0.4%), Gurma people, Gourmantche (0.4%), other (0.1%). The Zarma people, Zarma and Songhay people (subgroup), Songhay dominate the Dosso, Tillabéri, and Niamey régions, the Hausa people, Hausa dominate the Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua regions, Kanuri people, Kanuri Manga dominate the Diffa region, and Touaregs, Tuaregs dominate the Agadez region in Northern Niger.Languages
French, inherited from the colonial period, is the official language. It is spoken mainly as a second language by people who have received a formal western education and serves as the administrative language. Niger has been a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie since 1970. Niger has ten recognized national languages, namely Arabic language, Arabic, Buduma language, Buduma, Fula language, Fulfulde, Gurma language, Gourmanchéma, Hausa language, Hausa, Kanuri language, Kanuri, Zarma language, Zarma & Songhoyboro Ciine, Songhay, Tuareg languages, Tamasheq, Tasawaq language, Tassawaq, Tebu languages, Tebu. Each is spoken as a first language primarily by the ethnic group with which it is associated. Hausa and Zarma-Songhai, the two most spoken languages, are widely spoken throughout the country as first or second languages.Religion
Niger is a secular country and separation of state and religion is guaranteed by Articles 3 and 175 of the 2010 Constitution, which dictate that future amendments or revisions may not modify the secular nature of the republic of Niger. Religious freedom is protected by Article 30 of the same constitution. Islam, widespread in the region since the 10th century, has greatly shaped the culture and mores of the people of Niger. Islam is the most dominant religion, practiced by 99.3% of the population according to the 2012 census. The other two main religions of Niger are Christianity, practiced by 0.3% of the population, and Animism (African traditional religion, traditional indigenous religious beliefs), practiced by 0.2% of the population. Christianity was established earlier in the country by missionaries during the French colonial years. Other urban Christian expatriate communities from Europe and West Africa are also present. Religious persecution has flared in recent years in Niger; Christian charity Open Doors now lists Niger as the 37th most difficult country in which to be a Christian on their World Watch List, 'reflecting how pressure is increasing on Christians in this [...] nation.' Relations between Muslims and Christians have generally been cordial, according to the respective representatives of Christian and Muslim groups in Niger. The numbers of Animist practitioners are a point of contention. As recently as the late 19th century, much of the south center of the nation was unreached by Islam, and the conversion of some rural areas has been only partial. There are still areas where animist based festivals and traditions (such as the Bori (religion), Bori religion) are practiced by syncretic Muslim communities (in some Hausa areas as well as among some Toubou and Wodaabe pastoralists), as opposed to several small communities who maintain their pre-Islamic religion. These include the Hausa-speaking Maouri people, Maouri (or ''Azna'', the Hausa word for "pagan") community in Dogondoutci in the south-southwest and the Kanuri language, Kanuri speaking Manga near Zinder, both of whom practice variations of the pre-Islamic Hausa Maguzawa religion. There are also some tiny Boudouma and Songhay animist communities in the southwest. Over the past decade, syncretic practices have become less common among Muslim Nigerien communities.Islam
The majority of Muslims in Niger are Sunni, 7% are Shi'a, 5% are Ahmadiyya and 20% non-denominational.International Religious Freedom Report 2007: NigerEducation
The literacy rate of Niger is among the lowest in the world; in 2005 it was estimated to be only 28.7% (42.9% male and 15.1% female). Primary education in Niger is compulsory for six years."Niger"Health
The child mortality rate in Niger (deaths among children between the ages of 1 and 4) is 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. Niger also has the highest fertility rate in the world (6.49 births per woman according to 2017 estimates); this has resulted in nearly half (49.7%) of the Nigerien population being under age 15 in 2020. Niger has the 11th highest maternal mortality rate in the world at 820 deaths/100,000 live births. There were 3 physicians and 22 nurses per 100,000 persons in 2006. Clean drinking water is scarce by global standards, with significant differences between urban and rural areas. Niger is often located at the bottom of the Human Development Index, UN Human Development Index. Roughly 92% of the population lives in rural areas in the Tillabéri region along the western frontier, and there is a chronic scarcity of clean water, particularly during the hot season, when temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Just 40% of the 30,000 inhabitants in Téra, a city northwest of the country's capital of Niamey and near to the Burkina Faso border, have access to a working public water infrastructure. Société de Patrimoine des Eaux du Niger (SPEN), Niger's water authority, opened ten boreholes and built a water treatment plant in 2018 to provide potable water to Téra and the surrounding areas. The water supply ran out about a year later, and the water treatment facility was forced to close. With the help of a donation fund from the Dutch government, the European Investment Bank is collaborating with the Niger water authority to find solutions to Niger's water issues. The World Bank identified Niger as one of the 18 fragile regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. The EU bank has a history of investing in regions like these. The European Investment Bank and the Niger Water Authority are looking at two options for dealing with Téra's water shortages. The first choice is to repair the water tank on the outskirts of town. Another choice is to treat and transport water from the Niger River, which is located more than 100 kilometres to the east. Villages between Téra and the Niger River will also have access to sewage. The European Investment Bank will also look at renewable energy as a way to save costs.Culture
Nigerien culture is marked by variation, evidence of the cultural crossroads which French colonial empires, French colonialism formed into a unified state from the beginning of the 20th century. What is now Niger was created from four distinct cultural areas in the pre-colonial era: the Zarma people, Zarma and Songhay people (subgroup), Songhai dominated the Niger River valley in the southwest; the northern periphery of Hausaland, made mostly of those states which had resisted the Sokoto Caliphate, and ranged along the long southern border with Nigeria; the Chad basin, Lake Chad basin and Kaouar in the far east, populated by Kanuri people, Kanuri farmers and Toubou pastoralists who had once been part of the Bornu Empire, Kanem–Bornu Empire; and the Tuareg people, Tuareg nomads of the Aïr Mountains and the Sahara in the vast north. Each of these communities, along with smaller ethnic groups like the pastoral Wodaabe Fula people, Fula, brought their own cultural traditions to the new state of Niger. While successive post-independence governments have tried to forge a shared national culture, this has been slow forming, in part because the major Nigerien communities have their own cultural histories, and in part because Nigerien ethnic groups such as the Hausa people, Hausa, Tuareg and Kanuri are but part of larger ethnic communities which cross borders introduced under colonialism. Until the 1990s, government and politics was inordinately dominated byFestivals and cultural events
Guérewol festival
The Guérewol festival is a traditional Wodaabe cultural event that takes place in Abalak in Tahoua Region, Tahoua region or In-Gall, In'Gall in Agadez Region. It is an annual traditional courtship ritual practiced by the Wodaabe (Fula) people of Niger. During this ceremony, young men dressed in elaborate ornamentation and made up in traditional face painting gather in lines to dance and sing, vying for the attention of marriageable young women. The Guérewol festival is an international attraction and was featured in films and magazines as prominent as the National Geographic (magazine), National Geographic.Cure Salée festival
"La Cure salée" (English: Salt Cure) is a yearly festival of Tuareg and Wodaabe nomads in In-Gall, In'Gall in Agadez Region traditionally to celebrate the end of the rainy season. For three days, the festival features a parade of Tuareg camel riders followed with camel and horse races, songs, dances, and storytelling.Media
Niger began developing diverse media in the late 1990s. Prior to the Third Republic, Nigeriens only had access to tightly controlled state media.SEMINAIRE-ATELIER DE FORMATION ET DE SENSIBILISATION "Mission de service public dans les entreprises de presse d’Etat et privée"See also
* Outline of NigerReferences
Notes
Sources
* Decalo, Samuel. ''Historical Dictionary of Niger'', 3rd ed. (Scarecrow Press, 1997, ) – a comprehensive collection of Niger topics * CIA World FactbookExternal links
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