Niger
Culture
Economics
General Information
History
Politics
Population
|
Last 100 Topics:
Niger's new constitution was approved in July 1999. It restored the semi-presidential system of government of the December 1992 constitution (Third Republic) in which the president of the republic, elected by universal suffrage for a 5-year term, and a prime minister named by the president share executive power. As a reflection of Niger
One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger's economy is based largely on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 3.3% population growth rate, and the drop in world demand for uranium have undercut an already marginal economy. Traditional subsistence farming, herding, small...
Niger forms part of the vast Sahelian cultural region of western Africa. Although the influence of Islam is predominant, pre-Islamic cultural traditions are also strong and omnipresent. Since independence, greater interest has been shown in the country's cultural heritage, particularly with respect to traditional architecture, handicrafts, dances, and...
Considerable evidence indicates that about 600,000 years ago, humans inhabited what has since become the desolate Sahara of northern Niger. Long before the arrival of French influence and control in the area, Niger was an important economic crossroads, and the empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, as well as a number of Hausa states, claimed...
Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 8 00 E Map references: Africa Area: total area: 1.267 million sq km land area: 1,266,700 sq km comparative area: 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,...
The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who also constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the Djerma-Songhai, who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups, along with the Gourmantche, are sedentary farmers who live in the arable, southern tier of the country. The remainder of Nigeriens are nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock-raising...
|