Niger
The Republic of Niger covers 1.27 million square kilometers (489,000 square miles) of arid and semi-arid territory in West Africa, spanning the transition zone from the Sahara Desert to the Southern savannas. Most of the landlocked country's huge northern region is a sandy and rocky desert, sparsely populated by semi-nomadic populations. The bulk of the 11 million Nigeriens reside in the southern strip, where agriculture is possible during the mid-year four-month rainy season.
Niger's economy is essentially rural, a definition that includes a sizable group of pastoralists. Subsistence farming dominates agricultural activities, but the country exports considerable quantities of hides and skins to surrounding countries, along with livestock, cowpeas, and onions. The majority of the urban population is employed in the informal economy, with the formal sector being made up of a small civil service body and a nascent private sector.
Infrastructures are notoriously inadequate not only to sustain economic activities of a formal or modern type but also to cope with social needs. Niger's poor health infrastructure accounts for an exceptionally high infant mortality rate and the very low life expectancy figure (42 years). Nonetheless, a high fertility rate of 7 percent produces a juvenile population, only a modest portion (34%) of which benefits from formal state schooling.
The government of Niger rests on a constitution adopted by national referendum in 1999, the third in a decade. In 1991, Niger ended military and single-party rule through a National Conference that was to prepare for the democratization of the country. The process was comparable to what was happening in neighboring countries, in particular Benin and Mali. But the Nigerian process was marred by a series of setbacks and gridlocks, including two
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)military coups in 1994 and in 1999. A short transition period reinstated a civilian government in 1999 by way of free and fair elections.
The Nigerian government system is roughly tailored on that of its former colonizer, France. It is a semi-presidential system, which means that the executive has, in fact, two heads—a president, who is elected by universal suffrage, and a prime minister, who is appointed from the majority party by the president after legislative elections. The cabinet is also appointed by the president but is led by the prime minister. Decisions are made in cabinet meetings presided over by the president. Although appointed by the president, the prime minister is responsible before a unicameral (one chamber) parliament, the National Assembly, which has 113 seats. When both president and prime minister are from the same party, this system runs smoothly. Otherwise, collaboration is often difficult. Among the four higher-level judicial bodies, the Supreme Court plays a political role as an interpreter of constitution.
Niger has a vibrant civil society, animated by human rights and social rights associations and non-governmental organizations, a sprawling and biting written press (in French), and Islamic associations. This helps explain why citizen rights and freedoms are better protected in Niger than in many of its equally poor neighbors: Freedom House rated Niger as "partly free" in 2003. The main concern is about political participation, as despite the fairness of elections, voting rates have dwindled election after election.
Benin; Mali.
Bibliography
Freedom House. "Niger." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2004/countryratings/nig er.htm>.
Fung, Karen. "Niger." Africa: South of the Sahara. <www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg /africa/niger.html>.
"Niger." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2004. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/ng.html>.
Zamponi, Lynda F. Niger. Oxford, UK: Clio Press, 1994.
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