🇳🇪 Niger

National Flag

Geography & Borders

AlgeriaBeninBurkina FasoChadLibyaMaliNigeria

Introduction & Background

Niger or the Niger1314 (/niːˈʒɛər, ˈnaɪdʒər/ nee-ZHAIR, NY-jər,1516 Template:IPA-fr),a officially the Republic of the Niger1314 (Template:Lang-fr, Template:Lang-ha), is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. It covers a land area of almost 1,270,000km2 (490,000sqmi), making it the second-largest landlocked country in West Africa, after Chad. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its predominantly Muslim population of about 25 million1718 live mostly in clusters in the further south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger's southwest corner.

It is listed in the least developed countries group. Some non-desert portions of the country underwent periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence agriculture, with some export agriculture in the more fertile south, and export of raw materials, including uranium ore. It faces challenges to development due to its landlocked position, desert terrain, higher fertility rates without birth control and resulting overpopulation.19