|
Niger
Niger is located in West Africa, on a southern edge of Sahara. Two thirds of Niger is desert,
while the rest is semi-arid Sahel. In almost all possible international surveys Niger
gets bottom rankings: eg. Niger is the world's second poorest country right after
Sierra Leone.
It is also worth mentioning that Niger is not the capital of Nigeria but a
fully independent country north of Nigeria. Niger River flows thru both countries.
Area | 1 267 000 km2 |
Population | 10 078 000 |
Pop. density | 7,8 persons per km2 |
Capital | Niamey (650 000) |
Official language | french |
Local languages | hausa, djerma, fula, tamashek |
Currency | West African CFA franc, tied to euro: 1 euro = CFA656 |
Life expectancy | 48,5 years |
Infant mortality | 11,5% |
Literacy rate | 13,6% (6,6% women) |
Religions | muslims 95%, animists 4% |
Ethnic groups | hausa 55,6%, djerma-songhai 22%, fula 8,5%, touareg 7,9% |
Previous coup | april 1999 |
(above information collected from Lonely Planet West Africa (5th Edition) and Le Petit Futé Country Guide Niger)
|