Niger

Map of Niger

Country	Republic of Niger
Capital	Niamey
Independence	3 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday	Republic Day, 18 December (1958); note - commemorates the founding of the Republic of Niger which predated independence from France in 1960
Population	16,899,327 (July 2013 est.)
Sex ratio	1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
Nationality	Nigerien(s)
Religions	Muslim 80%, other (includes indigenous beliefs and Christian) 20%
Languages	French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Literacy	age 15 and over can read and write total population: 28.7% male: 42.9% female: 15.1% (2005 est.)
Location	Western Africa, southeast of Algeria
Geographic coordinates	16 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 1.267 million sq km land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries	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	0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)
Climate	desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain	predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Niger River 200 m highest point: Idoukal-n-Taghes 2,022 m
Natural resources	uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum
Land use	arable land: 11.43% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005)
Irrigated land	740 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	33.7 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 2.18 cu km/yr (4%/0%/95%) per capita: 156 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	recurring droughts
Environment - current issues	overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction
Environment - international agreements	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	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