My World Factbook
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Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999, BARE was killed in a counter coup by military officers who restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004 and in 2009 spearheaded a constitutional amendment that would allow him to extend his term as president. In February 2010, a military coup deposed TANDJA, immediately suspended the constitution and dissolved the Cabinet, and promised that elections would be held following a transitional period of unspecified duration. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. A predominately Tuareg ethnic group emerged in February 2007, the Nigerien Movement for Justice (MNJ), and attacked several military targets in Niger’s northern region throughout 2007 and 2008. Successful government offensives in 2009 limited the rebels’ operational capabilities.
Government
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger
local long form: Republique du Niger
local short form: Niger
republic
name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder
3 August 1960 (from France)
Republic Day, 18 December (1958); note - commemorates the founding of the Republic of Niger which predated independence from France in 1960
adopted 18 July 1999
based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: Djibo SALOU, chairman of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, and a leader of the military coup that deposed President Mamadou TANDJA on 18 February 2010
head of government: Prime Minister Mahamadou DANDA (since 19 February 2010); appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president
cabinet: 26-member Cabinet appointed by the president (Cabinet dissolved following the 18 February 2010 coup)
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elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); second round of election last held on 4 December 2004; a presidential election to restore civilian rule is scheduled for 31 January 2011
election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5%
unicameral National Assembly (113 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 20 October 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MNSD 76, RSD 15, RDP 7, PNA-Alouma 1, Alkalami 1, Nigerien Party of the Masses for Labor 1, independents 12
State Court or Cour d’Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d’Appel
Alkalama; Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Hama AMADOU]; Niger Social Democratic Party or PSDN; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Autonomy or PNA-Alouma [Sanousi JACKOU]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Issifou MAHAMADOU]; Nigerien Party of the Masses for Labor; Nigerien Progressive Party or PPN-RDA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP-jama’a [Hamid ALGABID]; Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU]
The Nigerien Movement for Justice or MNJ, a predominantly Tuareg rebel group
ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS (suspended), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Aminata Djibrilla Maiga TOURE
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227
FAX: [1] (202)483-3169
chief of mission: Ambassador Bisa WILLIAMS
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey
mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey
telephone: [227] 20-72-26-61 thru 64
FAX: [227] 20-73-31-67
three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk centered in the white band; the orange band denotes the drier northern regions of the Sahara; white stands for purity and innocence; green symbolizes hope and the fertile and productive southern and western areas, as well as the Niger River; the orange disc represents the sun and the sacrifices made by the people
note: similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band
name: “La Nigerienne” (The Nigerian)
lyrics/music: Maurice Albert THIRIET/Robert JACQUET and Nicolas Abel Francois FRIONNET
note: adopted 1961
Military
Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Nigerien Air Force (Force Aerienne du Niger) (2010)
17-21 years of age for selective compulsory or voluntary military service; enlistees must be Nigerien citizens and unmarried; 2-year service term; women may serve in health care (2009)
males age 16-49: 3,202,237
females age 16-49: 3,151,521 (2010 est.)
males age 16-49: 2,104,378
females age 16-49: 2,129,985 (2010 est.)
male: 177,985
female: 172,180 (2010 est.)
1.3% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 
117
Transnational Issues
Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute in the Tommo region; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission’s admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty that also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries
current situation: Niger is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; caste-based slavery practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continue in isolated areas of the country - an estimated 8,800 to 43,000 Nigeriens live under conditions of traditional slavery; children are trafficked within Niger for forced begging, forced labor in gold mines, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and possibly for forced labor in agriculture and stone quarries; women and children from neighboring states are trafficked to and through Niger for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, forced labor in mines and on farms, and as mechanics and welders
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - the Government of Niger does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making any significant efforts to do so; the government demonstrated marginal efforts to combat human trafficking, including traditional slavery, during the last year (2009)
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
