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Geography of Niger

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox country geography

Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions. Its geographic coordinates are longitude 16°N and latitude 8°E.

AreaEdit

Area comparative
  • Australia comparative: slightly smaller than the Northern Territory
  • Canada comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Manitoba
  • United States comparative: slightly more than three times the size of California
  • EU comparative: approximately twice the size of France

Brief historyEdit

Niger, which attained independence from France in 1960 was under military rule until 1991. On public demand Gen. Ali Saibou held multiparty elections in 1993 and soon democracy came into effect in 1993. However, political unrest was caused by Col. Ibrahim Bare who staged a coup in 1996, but he later died in a counter insurgency operations by officers of the military establishment in 1999. This was followed by fresh elections for a democratic rule, and Mamadou Tandja assumed power in December 1999. Tandja, who won the elections in 2004 and in 2009, wanted to bring about a constitutional amendment to extend his tenure as president. However, in February 2010, he was removed from the post of the president in a coup engineered by the military and the constitution was annulled. Soon after, in 2011, elections were held and Mahamadou Issoufou got elected as the president and was sworn in April 2011.<ref name="The World Factbook"/> Niger's problem with rebellious groups continued during 2007 and 2008. Rebellion was controlled. However, its security problems with its neighbors such as Libya, Nigeria and Mali have been a cause for concern.<ref name="The World Factbook"/>

GeographyEdit

Niger, with a land area of 1.267 million km2, is a land locked country which is bounded with a land boundary of 5,834 km by seven countries: Algeria (951 km), Benin (277 km), Burkina Faso (622 km), Chad (1,196 km), Libya (342 km), Mali 838 km, and Nigeria (1,608) km.<ref name="The World Factbook"/>

RegionsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Niger is divided into 7 Regions (French: régions; singularTemplate:Spaced ndashrégion). Each department's capital is the same as its name.

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Region Area
(km2)<ref>Niger at GeoHive Template:Webarchive</ref> 		Population
(2012 census)
Agadez 667,799 487,620
Diffa 156,906 593,821
Dosso 33,844 2,037,713
Maradi 41,796 3,402,094
Niamey 402 1,026,848
Tahoua 113,371 3,328,365
Tillabéri 97,251 2,722,842
Zinder 155,778 3,539,764

DepartmentsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

File:Niger arrondissements.png
The pre-2011 36 Departments of Niger. A further 27 were then carved out of existing divisions.

The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 Departments.

CommunesEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The 63 Departments are broken down into Communes. As of 2006 there were 265 communes, including communes urbaines (Urban Communes: centred in or as subdivisions of cities of over 10000), communes rurales (Rural Communes) centred in cities of under 10,000 and/or sparsely populated areas, and a variety of traditional (clan or tribal) bodies amongst semi-nomadic populations.

CitiesEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

  • NigerOMC.png

    Niger's cities, main towns and other centres

  • 1997 277-16A Agadez hotel.jpg

    Agadez is the largest city in central Niger, with a population of 88,569 (2005 census)

  • Niamey night.jpg

    Niamey, the Capital of Niger

RoadwaysEdit

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  • SNTVbus-Ouagadougou-Niamey.jpg

    A state-run SNTV coach running between Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Niamey, Niger

  • Blvd Mali Bero from grand mosquee niamey.jpg

    Truck and car traffic along Boulevard Mali Bero, Niamey, Niger

Physical geographyEdit

Agricultural geographyEdit

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File:Niger sat.png
A satellite image depicting the physical geography of Niger

Some of the land in Niger is used as arable land (660 km2 of land in Niger is irrigated) and as pasture. There are some forests and woodland. The table below describes land use in Niger, as of 2011.

Land use
Use Percentage of Area
Arable land 11.79<ref name="The World Factbook" />
Permanent crops 0.05<ref name="The World Factbook" />
Other 88.16<ref name="The World Factbook" />

ClimateEdit

File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 NER 1991–2020.svg
Niger map of Köppen climate classification

Niger's climate is largely hot and dry, with most of the country in a desert region. The terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes. There are also large plains in the south and hills in the north. In the southwest, there is a hot semi-arid climate near the edges of the Niger River Basin. There are small pockets of a tropical savanna climate on the southern border. Lake Chad at the southeast corner of the country is shared between Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon.

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Current issuesEdit

Current environmental issues in Niger include overgrazing, soil erosion, deforestation, desertification, recurring droughts, and endangered wildlife populations (such as the African elephant, Northwest African cheetah, West African giraffe, and Addax), which are threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Natural hazardsEdit

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File:Sahel Map-Africa rough.png
The Sahel region is a belt up to 1,000 km wide that spans Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea

Recurring droughts are a serious challenge for Niger.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 2012 Sahel drought, along with failed crops, insect plagues, high food prices and conflicts is currently affecting Niger causing a hunger crisis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many families in Niger, still recovering from the 2010 Sahel famine, are being affected by the 2012 Sahel drought.<ref name="West African food crisis 2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The 2005–06 Niger food crisis created a severe, but localized food security crisis in the regions of northern Maradi, Tahoua, Tillabéri, and Zinder of Niger from 2005 to 2006. It was caused by an early end to the 2004 rains, desert locust damage to some pasture lands, high food prices, and chronic poverty.

Extreme pointsEdit

International agreementsEdit

Niger is a party to the following agreements: Template:Div col

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Niger has signed, but not ratified the Kyoto Protocol and Law of the Sea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

National parks and reservesEdit

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File:WAP-Komplex englisch.svg
IUCN Protected area in Niger

Niger's protected areas comprise about 7.7 percent of the total land area.<ref name=Area>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Six of the reserves are fully categorized under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Natural resourcesEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Niger possesses the following natural resources: Template:Div col

  • Uranium<ref name="France backs Niger in talks with Areva over uranium mining">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Coal<ref name="Coal the new weapon to stop desert advance">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Iron ore<ref name="CROSS-BORDER DIARIES">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Tin<ref name="THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA" />
  • Phosphates<ref name="THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF OTHER COUNTRIES OF AFRICA" />
  • Gold<ref name="Semafo up 4% after tracing new trend over 10 kilometers in Niger">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Molybdenum
  • Gypsum
  • Salt<ref name="Protecting Niger’s Desert Salt Pans">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Oil<ref name="As refinery opens, Niger joins club of oil producers">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Div col end

WaterwaysEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also

WildlifeEdit

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Political geographyEdit

Template:See also Surrounded by seven other countries, Niger has a total of 5,834 km of borders. The longest border is with Nigeria to the south, at 1,608 km. This is followed by Chad to the east (1,196 km), Algeria to the north-northwest (951 km), and Mali to the west (838 km). Niger also has short borders in its far southwest frontier (Burkina Faso at 622 km and Benin at 277 km) and to the north-northeast (Libya at 342 km).<ref name="The World Factbook" />

See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

Template:Regions and departments of Niger Template:Niger topics footer Template:Geography of Africa Template:Africa topic

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