Niger

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Niger spends US$172 million, or 1.3 percent of its GDP on its military. This makes Niger the 123rd highest military spender in the world representing 0.009 percent of total global military expenditure.

The military of Niger, called the Niger Armed Forces, consists of an army and an Air Force. The military has played a large role in politics over the last 70 years by partaking in three military coups.

Military membership

Niger is a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 82nd most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Niger has not partaken in any international war.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Niger is a member of 10 international political organizations which makes it the 142nd most politically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
United Nations Security Council
International Labour Organization
African Union
Conseil de l'Entente
Member states of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
International Criminal Court
Interpol
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite being a new democratic state with free elections, Niger faces several democratic problems such as a weak judicial system as well as the threat of radical Islam that influences individual lives in a large part of Niger. This makes Niger the 105th most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Niger is in the form of a democratic republic where the president is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government. The president is elected for a five-year term and has the power to appoint the Prime Minister.

If you liked this page, and you want to support us, please take a look at the support options on the top bar.

If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Nigeria.

Named after the Niger River, the Republic of Niger is known to have one of the largest uranium deposits in the world. The territory was first inhabited by nomadic tribes until it was colonized by France at the end of the 19th century. After gaining its independence in 1960, several military coups ensued which lasted until 2010. Since then, Niger has been plagued with corruption as well as Islamic radicalism. .

Being a landlocked state, which is almost fully located in the Sahara Desert, Niger has limited arable land. Its terrain is mainly made up of flat land with the exception of a mountain range in its center and on its northern border with Algeria. Most of its terrain consists of flat planes and sand dunes with the exception of a small strip of arable land along the Niger River. It borders Algeria and Libya to the north, Chad to the east, Benin and Nigeria to the south and Burkina Faso and Mali to the west.

It is the 21st largest state in the world with a total surface area of 1,273,335 square kilometers or 491,445 square miles. This makes Niger slightly larger than Chad and slightly smaller than Angola.

It has a total water surface area of 302 square kilometers or 121 square miles. This water surface is mainly made up of the Niger River.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Water is mainly derived from the Niger River however, after passing several other African states, the water in the Niger River has been severely polluted and is considered unsafe to drink.

The climate of Niger is characterized as a desert climate which has a wet season and a dry season with the dry season covering two thirds of the year. Only its most southern part can be considered a tropical climate which receives the most amount of rainfall. The average temperature is 27.5 degrees Celsius or 81.5 degrees Fahrenheit which makes Niger the 10th warmest state in the world.

The average high temperature is 34.2 degrees Celsius or 93.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average low temperature is 21.7 degrees Celsius or 71.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

The rain season occurs between June to October and is unevenly spread out throughout Niger with its southern part receiving five times the amount of its northern part. With a total of 58.6 centimetres or 23.1 inches of rainfall per year, Niger is the 148th state with the highest amount of rainfall.

The capital of Niger, Niamey, is a home to approximately 1 million people. The capital that is closest located to Niamey is Ouagadougou of Burkina Faso with a distance of 412 kilometers or 256 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Niamey is Apia Samoa with a distance of 19,417 kilometers or 12,065 miles.

The economy of Niger is a developing economy which is highly dependent on subsistence farming as well as foreign aid. Besides from subsistence farming, Niger also has large reserves of gold, uranium and oil. These products are the main contributor to its GDP and are mainly exported to Thailand, Switzerland, France and Malaysia which combined represent just over 50 percent of all exports. Most of its import comes from France and China which combined represent more than 40 percent of all imports.

Niger is a member of 13 international economic organizations which makes it the 82nd most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
West African Development Bank
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Economic Community of West African States
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance
Group of 77

Its GDP, with US$11.7 billion, is the 142nd highest in the world and represents 0.014 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per service area is US$9214 per square kilometer or US$23,873 per square mile which is the 190th highest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is the 188th highest in the world with US$507.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power parity per capita is US$1244 which is the 189th highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 23.1 million people, Niger is the 56th most populous state in the world. French is the official language in Niger due to its colonial past. However, its population mainly consists of more than seven different African tribes with the Hausa being the largest group representing more than half of the population.

Its population density is 18 people per square kilometer or 47 people per square mile which makes it the 166th highest in the world.

Emigration is represented by just under 400,000 people, or 1.7 percent of the population. This makes Niger the 115th state with the highest amount of emigrants and represents 0.16 percent of total global migration. In the past, Niger has seen a large exodus of people due to limited economic prosperity within Niger. However, the government of Niger has made it illegal to migrate to other states that can be punishable by imprisonment. This has led to a sharp decrease in migration. Nigeria has been the largest recipient of migrants and has taken in more than one third of all migrants.

Immigration is represented by just under 200,000 people, or 0.84 percent of the population. This makes Niger the 89th state with the highest amount of immigrants representing 0.08 percent of total global immigration. Nigeria has also been the largest center of migrants to Niger which represents more than half of all migrants.

Education is free and compulsory in Niger. However, these rules are not enforced. Also, because of its status as a developing state, Niger has not had large funding go to its educational system. Aside from this, there have been cultural and religious limitations on the education of women which has led to a large discrepancy between men and women. With a literacy rate of 24.3 percent, Niger is the second least literate state in the world.

In recent decades, Niger has made comparatively large investments in its healthcare system. At this has led to the improvement of neonatal death as well as a decrease in HIV rates. However, communicable diseases are still the leading cause of death with malaria being the main health threat in Niger. Noncommunicable diseases are mainly related to obesity and obesity related diseases. The average life expectancy is 63.6 years which is the 173rd highest in the world. Women reach 64.9 years while men reach 62.4 years.

Despite being a Muslim majority state, Niger generally respects the freedom of religion of all religions.

Christianity is represented by 0.4 percent of the population and has been introduced by French colonial institutions at the end of the 19th century. Today, Christianity is expected to increase in Niger in the coming decades increasing its share to 0.6 percent of the population.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 98.4 percent of the population which makes it the 10th most Islamic state in the world. The vast majority of Muslims in Niger adhere to Sunni Islam with the Maliki school of thought. Islam has been present in Niger since the 15th century and originated from Arab merchants that arrived from northern Africa. A large part of the population adheres to a liberal form of Islam which tolerates the use of alcohol as well as not wearing head scarves by women.

Buddhism does not have an official organization in Niger.

Hinduism does not have an official organization in Niger.

Judaism does not have an official organization in Niger.

Other religions mainly stem from traditional African religions such as animism. Most of these traditional African religions coincide with Islam, but 0.7 percent of the population exclusively adheres to these religions.

Irreligion is represented by 0.47 percent of the population.