Zinder Region 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 administrativ ...

; the capital of the region is

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 (2001 census);

. The region covers 145,430 km². It is the most populous province of Niger.

History

Numerous Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains, as well as cave paintings, have been found in the

Termit Massif The Termit Massif (Termit Mountains or simply the Termit) is a mountainous region in southeastern Niger. Just to the south of the dunes of Tenere desert and the Erg of Bilma, the northern areas of the Termit, called the Gossololom consists of b ...

. Zinder was the centre of the

Sultanate of Damagaram The Sultanate of Damagaram was a Muslim pre-colonial state in what is now southeastern Niger, centered on the city of Zinder. History Rise The Sultanate of Damagaram was founded in 1731 (near Mirriah, modern Niger) by Muslim Kanouri arist ...

, a powerful sultanate which dominated much of the surrounding region from the mid-18th century until the French conquest in the 1890s. Zinder was initially the capital of the Niger territory, however this was moved to

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...

in 1926 and thereafter Zinder declined in importance, though it remains an important regional centre.

Geography

Zinder Region is located in the southeast of Niger and covers 145,430 km². It borders

Agadez 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,

Diffa Region Diffa is one of the seven Regions of Niger, located in the southeast of the country. The capital of the region is Diffa. Geography Diffa Region is situated in the extreme southeast of Niger between 10° 30’ and 15° 35’ longitude East and 1 ...

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 (specifically, the states of

Yobe Yobe is a state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu; and it's largest and most populated city is Potisk ...

, Jigawa and

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

), and

Maradi Region The Region of Maradi is one of seven Region of Niger. It is located in south-central Niger, east of the Region of Tahoua, west of Zinder, and north of the Nigerian city of Katsina. The administrative centre is at Maradi. The population of the R ...

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

desert in the north of the region. The terrain is predominantly flat, except for the Koutous Hills, which lie north of Kelle, and the

in the far north of the region.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 213-26

Settlements

Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 170,574 (2001 census);

is the regional capital; other major settlements include

Alakoss Alakoss is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

Albarkaram Albarkaram is a village and rural commune in the Damagaram Takaya Department of the Zinder Region of Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

, Bande, Boune,

Dakoussa Dakoussa is a village and rural commune in the Takeita Department of the Zinder Region of Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

Dan-Barto Dan-Barto is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

Dantchiao Dantchiao is a village and rural commune in the Magaria Department of the Zinder Region of Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

Daouche Daouche is a village and rural commune in Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

Dogo-Dogo Dogo-Dogo is a village and rural commune in the Dungass Department of the Zinder Region of Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages

, Falenko, Gaffati, Gamou, Garagoumsa, Gouchi, Gouna,

Goure Goure (fr. Gouré) is a town in southeastern Niger, Zinder Region, Goure Department, of which it is the seat. Situation Situated on the main all-weather east–west highway in Southern Niger, it is about 170 km east of regional capital ...

, Guidiguir, Hamdara, Ichirnawa, Kantche, Kelle, Kolleram, Kourni, Kwaya, Magaria, Malawa, Matameye, Mirriah,

Moa Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

, Ollelewa, Sassoumbroum,

Tanout Tanout is a town in southern Niger. It is in Zinder Region, Tanout Department, north of the city of Zinder. It is the administrative capital of Tanout Department. History Since 1987, the Eden Foundation, an NGO aiming at providing trees for "d ...

Tenhya Tenhya is a village and rural commune in Niger. As of 2010, it had a total population of 20,533 people. Tenhya located in the northern Sahel. The neighboring municipalities are Aderbissinat in the northwest, the northeast Tabelot, Tesker to the ea ...

, Tesker, Tsaouni, Yaouri and Yekoua.

Administrative subdivisions

Zinder was divided into 5

Department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

s: *

Goure Department Goure is a department of the Zinder Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of Goure Goure (fr. Gouré) is a town in southeastern Niger, Zinder Region, Goure Department, of which it is the seat. Situation Situated on the main all ...

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

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

* Mirriah Department *

Tanout Department Tanout is a department of the Zinder Region in Niger. Its administrative seat is the city of Tanout. As of 2011, the department had a total population of 475,125 people. On 15 April 2010, the Council of Ministers announced that Amadou Seybou Dio ...

Of the 27 administrative stations (postes administratifs) of Niger which were set out in a law dated 1 August 2011 to become departments and for which the appointment of prefects on 29 February 2012 completed the conversion, the following 5 are in Zinder region. * Belbédji Department * Damagaram Takaya Department * Dungass Department * Takiéta Department * Tesker Department So, Zinder now has 10 departments.

Demographics

As of 2012 the population of the Region was 3,539,764.Annuaire statistique du Niger
/ref> The main ethnolinguistic groups are various

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

groups,

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

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,

Dazaga Daza (also known as Dazaga) is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Daza people inhabiting northern Chad. The Daza are also known as the Gouran (Gorane) in Chad. Dazaga is spoken by around 380,000 people, primarily in the Djurab Desert regio ...

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 ...

and

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

groups such as the Tayart Tamajeq. The

Tagdal Tagdal (Tuareg name: ''Tagdalt'') is a mixed Northern Songhay language of central Niger. Ethnologue considers it a "mixed Berber–Songhay language", while other researchers consider it Northern Songhay. There are two dialects: Tagdal proper ...

language, thought to be a mixed Songhay-Tuareg language, is also spoken.

Governors

* Yahaya Yandaka - 2013-16 * Issa Moussa - 2016–present

References

External links

Regions of Niger {{Niger-geo-stub