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Niger
Area: 1,267,000 sq kms
Population: 12 million (est 2005)
Capital City: Niamey
People: There are four main groups – Hausa, Djerma, Fulani and Tuareg.
Languages: French and Arabic are the official languages but local languages are widely spoken. Religion: 95% are Moslem.
Currency: CFA franc. Pegged to the Euro. 655.957 FCAF = I euro
Head of State: President Mamadou Tandja
Prime Minister: Hama Amadou
Membership of International Organisations: United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA), International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF).
Geography
Niger is a landlocked country in the West Africa, straddling the boundary between the Sahara and the Sahel. It is the largest state in West Africa but with a small population of some 12 million. It has borders with seven countries -Nigeria , Chad, Libya, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin. Two–thirds of the country is desert. The Niger River valley in the south-west allows for crop farming and provides seasonal pasture for cattle.
History
Niger was a French colony, part of French West Africa. Niger was granted its independence in 1960 but retained strong ties with France through a series of bilateral agreements, including a defence agreement, and its membership of the Franc Zone. Its first President, Hamani Diori, introduced a one-party state which survived until Niger experienced its first military coup in 1974. The military regime, first under Colonel Seyni Kountche till his death, followed by Colonel Ali Sabou , stayed in power until 1991. Following trends elsewhere in Africa, domestic and international pressure forced the military to concede to demands for a multi-party democracy. In 1991 a National Conference drew up a new constitution, a transitional civilian government was formed, elections were held and a new civilian government was installed in April 1993.
But it was not to last. Three years later, the military, led by Colonel Bare Mainassara, intervened again in January 1996. His regime survived until April 1999 when it was overthrown by a fellow military officer, Major Wanke. Although Mainassare had civilianised his regime and held elections, in which he won the Presidency, his government was oppressive and corrupt. Wanke's takeover was therefore widely welcomed in Niger, although it was condemned by the EU , the USA and the OAU. He promised a return to civilian rule within nine months. He kept his word.
Politics
Under the new constitution , adopted in 1999, (the country's fifth since independence) which re-introduced a multi-party system, Niger has an Executive President, an 83-member (since raised to 113) unicameral National Assembly, both elected for five year terms, and a Cabinet headed by a Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President. Unusually, the constitution also has a clause granting immunity from prosecution for all those involved in the coups d'etat of 1996 and 1999.
The first multi-party elections under the new dispensation were held in Oct/November 1999. Seven candidates contested for the Presidency. Mamadou Tandja won in the second round with nearly 60% of the votes in an election judged by observers to have been free and fair. The new civilian government was inaugurated in January 2000. This led to the resumption of assistance from donors who had suspended aid following the Wanke coup in which Mainassare had been killed. Subsequently, the first ever municipal elections took place in July 2004. Decentralisation was a key part of the peace agreements of 1995 with the Tuaregs who had been in rebellion for some years.
President Tandja was re-elected in December 2004 for a second term with 65% of the vote while his party the Mouvement national pour une Societe de Development (MNSD) won the largest number of seats in the legislature- 47 out of 113. The largest opposition party is the Parti Nigerien pour la Democratie et le Socialisme (PNDS). Other parties such as the Convention Democratique et Sociale, (CDS) have taken ministerial appointments, blurring the lines between government and opposition. In October 2006, the Education Minister and the former Education Minister were both arrested following an audit which showed mismanagement of EU funds in the education sector.
Human Rights
Since the return to civilian rule in early 2000, the human rights situation has improved. Political freedom now exists, there is an active civil society and an independent press. However, journalists are sometimes arrested for printing articles critical of Ministers, and a newspaper (l’Opinion) was suspended in July 2006 for printing articles critical of the government’s handling of demonstrations over the price of basic foodstuffs. Niger has a long tradition of bonded labour, like neighbouring Mali and Chad. Anti-Slavery International has claimed that there are up to 43,000 slaves in Niger. In May 2005, the government introduced a law threatening slave owners with up to 30 years in jail. So far, few people under bonded labour have been released.
Annual Human Rights Reports
Economy
Basic facts
GDP: US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$ 3,4 million (2005)
Annual growth: 7.1% (2005)
Inflation: 7.8% (2005)
Major industries: uranium mining, cattle husbandry, vegetables
Main trading partners: exports – France, Nigeria, United States; imports – France, Cote d'Ivoire, China, Nigeria
Niger's most important export is uranium, accounting for some 30% of the country's exports by value. In the doldrums for some years because of low world prices, 2004 saw a 44% rise in the price and rising demand. In 2006 Niger licensed three Chinese companies to prospect for further uranium. A small gold mine has opened , and exports begun in 2005 although its contribution to the economy is likely to be modest. The Malaysian state oil company, Petronas, struck oil in January 2005 on its Agadem concession but it is not yet clear if reserves will be sufficient to justify commercial production.
Apart from the mining sector, Niger is essentially an agricultural and pastoral economy. Cyclical drought (worst in 1969, 1973/4, 1985 and 2004/5)and locust infestation (as in 2004), can have devastating effects on food production , animal husbandry and cash crops. A main cash crop, cotton, suffers erratic production levels partly due to recurring drought and partly to depressed world prices. Niger, along with other countries in the Sahel, suffers persistent food insecurity. Niger's strategic cereal reserves had been wiped out by the prolonged drought in 2004/5.. This had caused a major crisis by the middle of 2005, although the situation has now improved due to the international response and due to the improved harvest in the latter half of 2005.
President Tandja's government has embarked on an economic reform programme, supported by the IMF with whom he signed second a 3-year programme in February 2005, for some US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$ 10 million, to support the country’s poverty reduction and growth strategy. Price hikes, due to IMF demands and high import prices led, in July 2006, to strikes and demonstrations which paralysed the Capital Niamey.
Development
Niger is ranked as the poorest country measured in the UNDP UNDP Human Development Index, ranked 177 out of 177 countries. But modest improvements are now being recorded in the health and education sectors. Access to health posts rose from 56% in 2002 to 65% in 2004 while child vaccination programmes reached further than before. Primary school enrolment rose form 45% in 2002 to 50% in 2004. However, there are serious obstacles to sustained development, including a high rate of population growth at 7%, a hostile desert environment and limited arable land. Recurring drought is a major problem.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) channels money for education in Niger through the French development agency (AfD), contributes to humanitarian assistance following the UN emergency appeal (totalling £5.25m). The UK government wrote off 100% of Niger’s bilateral debt in January 2006 following Niger’s successful completion of the HIPC process.
International relations
Landlocked and surrounded by seven states, Niger maintains good relations with its neighbours. President Tandja was in 2005 concurrently the Chairman of ECOWAS and UEMOA. The conflict in Cote d'Ivoire has temporarily affected transport costs as new outlets other than the port of Abidjan have had to be used. Niger has a border dispute with Benin, which was referred to the ICJ in 2002. There is also insecurity along the porous borders with Mali ,Libya and Algeria where arms trafficking and smuggling are commonplace.
Niger's relations with France, the former colonial power, remain strong. It is the main bilateral donor and trading partner. Relations with the USA have strengthened following Niger's participation in the Pan-Sahel partnership (which also involves Chad, Mali and Mauritania) . It focuses on military and anti-terrorist training. The country's remote northern region has been known to be used by the Algerian Salafist group.
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