Niger:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Niger:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition 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.

Location	Definition Western Africa, southeast of Algeria
Geographic coordinates	Definition 16 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references	Definition Africa
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries	Definition total: 5,697 km 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
Coastline	Definition 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	Definition none (landlocked)
Climate	Definition desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain	Definition predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Niger River 200 m highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m
Natural resources	Definition uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 11.43% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 730 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 33.7 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 2.18 cu km/yr (4%/0%/95%) per capita: 156 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition recurring droughts
Environment - current issues	Definition overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note	Definition 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