ways 2,440-3,659 m;
12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: low-capacity radio relay and wire system being
expanded; connection into Central American Microwave System; 60,000 telephones;
stations--45 AM, no FM, 7 TV, 3 shortwave; satellite earth stations--1
Intersputnik and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
- Defense Forces
Branches: Sandinista Popular Army, Sandinista Navy, Sandinista Air
Force/Air Defense, Sandinista People's Militia
Military manpower: males 15-49, 747,144; 459,333 fit for military service;
44,213 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Niger
- Geography
Total area: 1,267,000 km2; land area: 1,266,700 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries: 5,697 km total; Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km,
Burkina 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Disputes: Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in northern Niger; exact locations
of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria tripoints in Lake Chad have
not been determined, so the boundary has not been demarcated and border
incidents have resulted; Burkina and Mali are proceeding with boundary
demarcation, including the tripoint with Niger
Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to
rolling plains in south; hills in north
Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates
Land use: 3% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 7% meadows and
pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 88% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recurrent drought and desertification severely affecting
marginal agricultural activities; overgrazing; soil erosion
Note: landlocked
- People
Population: 7,969,309 (July 1990), growth rate 3.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 52 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 131 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 53 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Nigerien(s) adjective--Nigerien
Ethnic divisions: 56% Hausa; 22% Djerma; 8.5% Fula; 8% Tuareg; 4.3% Beri
Beri (Kanouri); 1.2% Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche; about 4,000 F
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