Niger (nī'jər, nēzhâr') , officially Republic of Niger, republic (2005 est. pop. 11,666,000), 489,189 sq mi (1,267,000 sq km), W Africa. It borders on Burkina Faso and Mali in the west, on Algeria and Libya in the north, on Chad in the east, and on Nigeria and Benin in the south. Niamey is the country's capital and its largest city.

Land and People

Niger is extremely arid except along the Niger River in the southwest and near the border with Nigeria in the south, where there are strips of savanna. Most of the rest of the country is either semidesert or part of the Sahara. In N central Niger is the Aïr Massif (average elevation: 3,000 ft/910 m; maximum elevation: c.5,900 ft/1,800 m), which receives slightly more rainfall than the surrounding desert. Administratively, the country is divided into seven departments and the capital district. In addition to Niamey, other cities include Maradi, Tahoua, and Zinder.
The main ethnic groups are the Hausa, the Kanuri, the Songhai and Djerma (Zarma), the Fulani, and the Tuareg. The great majority of the population is rural and lives in the south. There is a significant migration of seasonal labor to Ghana, Nigeria, and Chad. About 80% of the population is Muslim; most of the rest adhere to traditional religious beliefs, except for a small Christian minority in the cities. The country's official language is French, and several indigenous languages as well as Arabic are also spoken.

Economy

The economy of Niger is overwhelmingly agricultural, with about 90% of the workforce engaged in farming (largely of a subsistence type). The Hausa, Kanuri, and Songhai are mainly sedentary farmers, and the Fulani and Tuareg are principally nomadic and seminomadic pastoralists. The leading crops are millet, sorghum, cassava, cowpeas, peanuts, rice, cotton, and onions. Poultry, goats, cattle, sheep, and camels are raised.
Most of the country's few manufactures are basic consumer goods such as processed food, beverages, footwear, and radios. In addition, peanut oil, ginned cotton, chemicals, and construction materials (mainly bricks and cement) are produced. The mining of high-grade uranium ore began in the early 1970s at Arlit in the Aïr Massif. Small quantities of cassiterite (tin ore), low-grade iron ore, phosphates, natron, salt, and coal also are extracted. Gold and petroleum deposits are being explored. There is a fishing industry in the Niger River and Lake Chad.
Niger has a very limited transportation network; there is no railroad, and most of the country's all-weather roads are confined to the south and southwest. A major road also runs N from Zinder, through Agadez (in the Aïr Massif), and on into Algeria. Niger is landlocked and has only poor access to the sea.
The annual cost of Niger's imports usually is considerably higher than the value of its exports. The leading imports are textiles and clothing, machinery, cereals, motor vehicles, and petroleum products; the chief exports are uranium ore, livestock products, cowpeas, onions, and cotton. The principal trade partners are European nations (especially France), Nigeria, and Japan. Niger is part of the Franc Zone.

Government

Politics of Niger takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Niger is head of state and the Prime Minister of Niger head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The current legislature elected in December 2004 contains seven political parties. President Mamadou Tandja was re-elected in December 2004 and reappointed Hama Amadou as Prime Minister. Mahamane Ousmane, the head of the CDS, was re-elected President of the National Assembly (parliament) by his peers. The new second term government of the Fifth Republic took office on 30 December 2002. In August 2002, serious unrest within the military occurred in Niamey, Diffa, and Nguigmi, but the government was able to restore order within several days.

History

Early History and Colonialism
Numerous Neolithic remains of early pastoralism have been found in the desert areas of Niger. Ptolemy wrote of Roman expeditions to the Aïr Massif. In the 11th cent. A.D., Tuareg migrated from the desert to the Aïr region, where they later (c.1300) established a state centered at Agadez. Agadez was situated on a major trans-Saharan caravan route that connected N Africa with present-day N Nigeria. In E Niger, Bilma, a salt-mining center, was on another important trans-Saharan route that linked N Africa with the state of Bornu (located in present-day NE Nigeria).
In the 14th cent. the Hausa (most of whom lived in what is now N Nigeria) founded several city-states in S Niger. In the early 16th cent. much of W and central Niger came under the Songhai empire (centered at Gao on the Niger River in present-day Mali), and after the fall of Songhai at the end of the 16th cent. E and central Niger passed to Bornu. In the 17th cent. the Djerma people settled in SW Niger near the Niger River. In the early 19th cent. Fulani gained control of S Niger as a result of the holy war waged against the Hausa by the Muslim reformer Usuman dan Fodio.
At the Conference of Berlin (1884–85) the territory of Niger was placed within the French sphere of influence. The French established several military posts in S Niger in the late 1890s, but did not occupy Agadez until 1904 because of concerted Tuareg resistance. In 1900, Niger was made a military territory within Upper Senegal–Niger, and in 1922 it was constituted a separate colony within French West Africa. Zinder was the colony's capital until 1926, when it was replaced by Niamey. The French generally governed through existing political structures and did not alter substantially the institutions of the country; they undertook little economic development and provided few new educational opportunities