Geography of Niger

Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions. Its geographic coordinates are longitude 16°N and latitude 8°E.

Area

; Area comparative

Brief history

Niger, which attained independence from France in 1960 was under military rule until 1991. On public demand Gen. Ali Saibou held multiparty elections in 1993 and soon democracy came into effect in 1993. However, political unrest was caused by Col. Ibrahim Bare who staged a coup in 1996, but he later died in a counter insurgency operations by officers of the military establishment in 1999. This was followed by fresh elections for a democratic rule, and Mamadou Tandja assumed power in December 1999. Tandja, who won the elections in 2004 and in 2009, wanted to bring about a constitutional amendment to extend his tenure as president. However, in February 2010, he was removed from the post of the president in a coup engineered by the military and the constitution was annulled. Soon after, in 2011, elections were held and Mahamadou Issoufou got elected as the president and was sworn in April 2011.
Niger's problem with rebellious groups continued during 2007 and 2008. Rebellion was controlled. However, its security problems with its neighbors such as Libya, Nigeria and Mali have been a cause for concern.

Geography

Niger, with a land area of 1.267 million km², is a land locked country which is bounded with a land boundary of 5,834 km by seven countries: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali 838 km, and Nigeria km.

Regions

Niger is divided into 7 Regions ''. Each department's capital is the same as its name.

Region	Area	Population
Agadez	667,799	487,620
Diffa	156,906	593,821
Dosso	33,844	2,037,713
Maradi	41,796	3,402,094
Niamey	402	1,026,848
Tahoua	113,371	3,328,365
Tillabéri	97,251	2,722,842
Zinder	155,778	3,539,764

The national capital, Niamey, comprises a capital district.

Departments

Image:Niger arrondissements.png|thumb|right|The pre-2011 36 Departments of Niger. A further 27 were then carved out of existing divisions.
The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 Departments.

Communes

The 63 Departments are broken down into Communes. As of 2006 there were 265 communes, including communes urbaines, communes rurales centred in cities of under 10,000 and/or sparsely populated areas, and a variety of traditional bodies amongst semi-nomadic populations.

Physical geography

Agricultural geography

Some of the land in Niger is used as arable land and as pasture. There are some forests and woodland. The table below describes land use in Niger, as of 2011.

Use	Percentage of Area
Arable land	11.79
Permanent crops	0.05
Other	88.16

Climate

Niger's climate is largely hot and dry, with most of the country in a desert region. The terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes. There are also large plains in the south and hills in the north. In the southwest, there is a hot semi-arid climate near the edges of the Niger River Basin. There are small pockets of a tropical savanna climate on the southern border. Lake Chad at the southeast corner of the country is shared between Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon.

Current issues

Current environmental issues in Niger include overgrazing, soil erosion, deforestation, desertification, recurring droughts, and endangered wildlife populations, which are threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction.

Natural hazards

Recurring droughts are a serious challenge for Niger. The 2012 [Sahel drought], along with failed crops, insect plagues, high food prices and conflicts is currently affecting Niger causing a hunger crisis. Many families in Niger, still recovering from the 2010 Sahel famine, are being affected by the 2012 Sahel drought.
The 2005–06 Niger food crisis created a severe, but localized food security crisis in the regions of northern Maradi, Tahoua, Tillabéri, and Zinder of Niger from 2005 to 2006. It was caused by an early end to the 2004 rains, desert locust damage to some pasture lands, high food prices, and chronic poverty.

Extreme points

Northernmost point: Tripoint with Algeria and Libya, Agadez Region: 23°31'N.
Southernmost point: Benin/Niger/Nigeria tripoint, Dosso Region: 11°42'N
Easternmost point: border with Chad, Agadez Region: 16°00'E
Westernmost point: border with Mali and Burkina Faso, Tillabéri Region: 0°07'E
Highest point: Mont Idoukal-n-Taghès, Aïr Massif, Agadez Region:
Lowest point: Niger River at Nigeria border, Dosso Region:

International agreements

Niger is a party to the following agreements:

Niger has signed, but not ratified the Kyoto Protocol and Law of the Sea.

National parks and reserves

Niger's protected areas comprise about 7.7 percent of the total land area. Six of the reserves are fully categorized under the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Natural resources

Niger possesses the following natural resources:

Political geography

Surrounded by seven other countries, Niger has a total of 5,834 km of borders. The longest border is with Nigeria to the south, at 1,608 km. This is followed by Chad to the east, Algeria to the north-northwest, and Mali to the west. Niger also has short borders in its far southwest frontier and to the north-northeast.