Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked state in
West Africa. The capital is the city of Niamey.
Niger is one
of the poorest countries in the world and consistently ranks last in
the Human Development Index. More than 80% of the country's
territory is located in the Sahara desert, the rest is occupied by
the Sahel semi-desert, which is constantly under the threat of
drought and desertification with possible mass famine. The
population of just over 23 million is concentrated in the extreme
south and west of the country. The main sectors of the economy are
agriculture and mining - mainly uranium.
Etymology
The
toponym "Niger" comes from the hydronym of the same name - along the
Niger River flowing through it ("great river" or "river of rivers"
in the Tamash language).
Geographical position
The Republic of Niger is located in the
northeast of West Africa. It borders Algeria to the north and northwest,
Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south and
southwest, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, and Burkina Faso to
the west. from Mali. The country has no access to the sea. The state is
located between 11°37′ and 23°33′ north latitude (1300 km from north to
south) and 0°06′ and 16° east longitude (2000 km from west to east). The
territory of Niger has an area of 1,267,000 km², ranking sixth in Africa
in terms of area (after Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Sudan, Libya and Chad), and is also the largest state in West Africa.
Geology
Niger is located entirely on the African platform,
composed of Precambrian crystalline rocks - granites and slates.
Crystalline rocks in most of the territory are overlain by a sedimentary
cover of various ages: Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Tertiary and Quaternary.
Three outcrops of crystalline rocks on the surface are rich in minerals.
The largest such exit is the Air plateau, with an area of 60 thousand
km². On the right bank of the Niger River, Precambrian rocks come out in
the form of rocky hills, forming the Liptako Plateau, which occupies 30
thousand km². In the south, near Zinder, ancient rocks form two ridges
of granite hills with an area of 7 thousand km². Granite hills-outliers
also emerge in the Tenere desert and the Kavar area. The sedimentary
cover in the western, southern, and eastern parts of the country is
composed of marine, lacustrine, and continental sediments, while in the
northern part, it consists of thick strata of sands. Intensive erosion
and the duration of geological processes have led to the leveling of
most of the territory of Niger.
Relief
The relief of the
country is dominated by plains with heights of 200-500 m above sea
level. In the northwest there is the Air massif - a system of plateaus
of different heights, stretching for 400 km from north to south and for
250 km from west to east. The highest point, Mount Idukaln-Tages,
reaches 2022 m. The plateau is inclined to the west, densely indented by
wadis - dry riverbeds that fill up during the rainy season. The eastern
part of Air abruptly breaks off to the vast sandy desert of Tenere with
an area of about 400 thousand km². In the northern (Tenere-Tafazaset)
and central part of Tenere, between the Air and Jado plateaus, there are
mobile sand dunes. In the center of Tenere is Kavar, a steep area with
many oases. In the southern part of Tenere, sparse grass and shrubs hold
back the sands and create fixed dunes. To the west of the Air plateau is
the Talak plain - a desert with moving dunes with an area of 2-3
thousand km². The part of the plain adjoining Air is composed of clay
and irrigated from the wadi during the rainy season, which makes it a
good pasture for nomads.
In the northeast are the sandstone
plateaus of Jado and Mangeni. To the east, on the border with Chad, are
the Afafi and Chigai plateaus. These plateaus have steep slopes, are
indented by canyons and are difficult to access for humans. In the
southeast is the semi-desert Manga - the Dried Basin of Lake Chad. The
south of the country is occupied by plains with separate outcrops of
crystalline rocks.
Minerals
The main mineral deposits are
located in the outcrops of crystalline rocks on the Air and Liptako
plateaus, as well as in sedimentary rocks in the center and east of the
country. The main wealth of the country is uranium ore, in terms of the
reserves of which Niger is in ninth place in the world (sixth in terms
of production). Explored reserves of uranium ore (uranium oxide) are
estimated at 200 thousand tons. The main deposits of uranium are located
in the west of the Air plateau. Mining is carried out in the cities of
Arlit and Akuta. Exploration for uranium is also being carried out on
the Jado Plateau, large reserves have been found in the Kawara oases,
and there is an assumption that the distribution of uranium in Niger is
much more extensive.
In addition to uranium, the country is also
rich in other minerals. To the north of the city of Agadez is the
Anu-Araren coal deposit, whose reserves are about 6 million tons. The
low quality of coal is compensated by a shallow depth (about 40 m). In
the east of Niger, in the sedimentary rocks of the Manga Basin and Lake
Chad, there are oil-bearing layers. The iron ore deposit near the city
of Sai contains 600-700 million tons of raw materials. A large
phosphorite deposit (500 million tons) is being developed near the city
of Tapoa. In the vicinity of the villages of Timia and Elmeki,
cassiterite containing tungsten and tantalum is mined, deposits have
also been discovered near the city of Zinder. Near the city of Malbaza
there are large reserves of limestone and gypsum. Salt deposits have
been developed in the oases of Bilma, Fashi and Tegiddan-Tesum. Minor
gold placers were found in the deposits of the Sirba River.
Separate geological surveys have found copper, niobium, lithium,
manganese, cobalt, nickel and other minerals. Geological exploration,
study and development of the country's mineral resources are an
important and promising task for the development of the country's
economy.
Soils
The soils of Niger are quite poor. In the north of
Niger, on rocky plateaus and in sandy deserts, there is practically
no soil cover. Only in areas where water appears, thorny shrubs and
drought-resistant grasses form primitive sandy soils. In the south
of Niger, in the Sahel, the distribution of soils depends on the
amount of moisture. These are mainly red soils and sandy soils of
various thicknesses. The sandy soils of the Sahel have little humus,
making them vulnerable to wind erosion. Salt marshes are common in
the east of the country, in the basin of Lake Chad. In river
valleys, wadis, and depressions where water collects, clay soils
enriched with alluvium are found, favorable for agriculture. Niger
is characterized by the process of soil degradation and erosion,
leading to desertification of land, so the struggle for the
restoration and conservation of soils is the most important task of
the country.
Inland waters
The basis of the hydrographic
network of Niger is the Niger River with tributaries, flowing in the
south-west of the country, and the endorheic Lake Chad with the
Komadugu-Yobe River, located in the south-east [20]. In the rest of
the country, there are only temporary streams (wadis) that fill up
only during the short rainy season.
The Niger River, the
third longest river in Africa, flows through the country for about
600 km, creating a vast fertile plain, which is the breadbasket of
the country. The river crosses the border with Mali with relatively
little water, having evaporated significantly in the deserts. For
200 km, the river passes through the crystalline rocks of the
Liptako Plateau. Niamey, the capital of the country, is located on
Niger, where one of the few bridges, the Kennedy Bridge, crosses the
river. South of Niamey, the riverbed is laid in dense sandstones,
where it spreads widely during floods, reaching 5 kilometers in
width. On the border with Benin, Niger bends around the spurs of the
Atakora mountain range, the bends of the river, resembling the
letter Double "B", gave the name to the national park located here.
On the territory of the country, the Niger receives several
tributaries, the largest of them from the right bank: Goruol,
Dargol, Sirba, Gorubi, Tapoa, Alibori, Sota and Mekru. Most of the
right-bank tributaries dry up during the dry season, from December
to June. With the end of the rainy season, the rivers turn into
chains of lakes, where the water remains for quite a long time. From
the left bank, only temporary streams flow into the Niger, the
largest of them are the dassols (wadis) of Boso and Mauri.
Lake Chad and the large river Komadugu-Yobe that flows into it form
a river network in the east of the country. The Komadugu-Yobe River
originates in Nigeria, the last 150 kilometers of its course form a
natural border between Niger and Nigeria. In the dry season, the
river becomes very shallow, in January there is a flood. Niger owns
about 3 thousand square meters. kilometers of Lake Chad, one of the
largest reservoirs in Africa. Its area varies from 10 to 26 thousand
km², and its depth - from 1 to 4 meters. In July, due to intensive
evaporation, a decrease in water is observed, and in January the
water level is the highest. Lake Chad is rich in fish, but the
shores are difficult to access due to vegetation, waterlogging and
changes in the coastline.
In the north and in the center of
the country there are only temporary drains called wadis, kori,
magjii and gulbi. In July-August, during the rainy season, they fill
with water in a few hours, sometimes causing floods and forcing the
locals to settle on the hills. After rains, water lingers in them
for some time, making the channels important for agriculture and
cattle breeding. For example, the gulbi Nmaradi has a length of 150
kilometers in Niger, making it the largest temporary watercourse in
the country. Groundwater in the areas of the Air, Jado and Kavar
plateaus come very close to the surface, giving rise to oases. In
other places they are located at a depth of up to 650 meters. Due to
the aridity of the country, the exploration and use of groundwater
is a very important task.
Niger is one of the hottest countries in the world in terms of
average temperature. Its climate is determined by the continental
position, the proximity of the Sahara and the equator. The average
annual temperature is not less than +25 °C, the average daily
temperature fluctuations are large. In the morning it is cool - about
+15 ° C, and by noon the temperature can reach +35 ° C and above. The
seasons in Niger are distinguished not by temperature, but by the regime
of precipitation. Three seasons are distinguished here: dry cool, dry
hot and rainy. The dry cool season, caused by the northern continental
airflow from the Sahara, lasts from November to February. The night
temperature reaches a minimum annual value of +8 °C, but during the day
it rises to +30 °C. This is the mildest time of the year - the peak of
the tourist season. In the dry hot season, which lasts from February to
July, the daytime temperature reaches +40 °C, and the night temperature
is not less than +25 °C. At this time, the east wind dominates -
Harmattan, which reaches a speed of 10 m / s. Harmattan often causes
dust storms and dusty fog, covering even the southern regions of the
country for several days. In April-May, and in the north of the country
in June-July, the rainy season begins. The wind changes to the
southwest, it rains with a thunderstorm for several hours a day, causing
floods. The maximum precipitation occurs in August. Precipitation is
distributed unevenly: in the north of the country, in the Sahara,
precipitation lasts only a few hours over 2-4 days, and about 20 mm
falls. In some areas there is no rain for several years. In the central
regions of the country, in the Sahel, the average annual precipitation
is 200-250 mm and it rains for two to four months, but it may be late,
or very little falls. Local droughts are a frequent occurrence. Only in
the extreme south, on the border with Benin, 600-800 mm of precipitation
falls annually; The number of rainy days in a year reaches 65.
Most of the territory of Niger belongs to the arid and semi-arid zones.
Potential evaporation reaches 2000-3000 mm per year, several times
higher than the amount of precipitation. Periodically, the country faces
prolonged droughts. They were observed in 1910-1915, 1940-1944,
1968-1974, 1984-1985. Everywhere the groundwater level is lowering,
wells are drying up, agriculture and cattle breeding are suffering.
Flora
In the zone of deserts and semi-deserts, the vegetation
cover is extremely sparse. Date palms grow in the oases of the east
of the country. In the valleys of the Air Plateau, due to the
proximity of groundwater and temporary streams, vegetation is more
abundant, tall grasses are present, and trees are more numerous. The
flora of the savannas is represented by a variety of acacias,
undersized wild cereals, and wormwood. Grasses and shrubs are the
main food for camels, sheep and goats. Most savannah trees and
shrubs lose their leaves at the beginning of the dry season. During
the rainy season, the savannah is covered with fast-growing grass up
to two meters high: bearded vulture and elephant grass. The
vegetation of semi-deserts is severely affected by livestock grazing
and cutting down for fuel. The south of the savannah is better
irrigated during the rainy season, so the vegetation is more
abundant here: a neem tree, imported from India, ceiba, or a cotton
tree, baobabs, and shea grow. The richest and most diverse flora of
the banks of the Niger River. From the trees here grow mangoes and
papayas, giving juicy fruits, acacias and palms. Bamboo grows in the
floodplain of the river.
Fauna
The animal world is
represented mainly in the southwestern region, near the Niger River:
lions, hippos, giraffes, zebras, flamingos, crocodiles and others.
Many insects live in Niger, mosquitoes, locusts and termites
bring great harm to the economy. Niger, other rivers, and lakes are
rich in fish. Savannah reptiles are diverse: snakes and lizards,
from geckos to large monitor lizards, crocodiles are found in the
Niger River. Of the birds, ostriches, eagles, white-headed vultures,
and kites are numerous. Ducks, geese, sandpipers, herons, cranes,
ibises, storks, and marabou live in the southern savannah. Migratory
birds from the north, including Europe, winter in Niger from October
to March. Oryx and addax antelopes are found in the desert, gazelles
are also found in the savannah - gazelle-dama and korin, cheetahs,
hyenas and jackals. In the southern savannah, due to human
development, there are not many habitats for large mammals left. Yet
here you can meet giraffes, warthogs, lions. Two herds of elephants
roam near Lake Chad and on the right bank of the Niger River, and
hippos live in the river itself.
prehistoric period
When a relatively humid climate reigned in the
territory of the modern Sahara Desert, the inhabitants of Niger differed
from modern ones. In 7-6 thousand BC in Niger there was a Kiffian
culture, whose representatives were tall, had a massive physique. In 5-3
thousand BC it was replaced by the Tenerian culture, which disappeared
without a trace after the Sahara dried up. Probably, its surviving
carriers migrated to more humid areas.
African states
The
eastern part of Niger was for a long time under the rule of the Kanem
Empire, and soon under the control of the kingdom of Bornu. From the
13th to the 15th centuries, the western territory of Niger was partially
conquered by the empire of Mali, but after its collapse, the neighboring
Principality of Songhai gained the status of a kingdom, which took
control of the western part of the Niger River Valley. However, in 1591,
the Songhai state was conquered by the army of the Sultan of Morocco,
while the southern regions located on the territory of modern Niger
retained their independence. Here arose the principality of Dendi,
headed by Askim Nukha, ruling from Lulani; the border with Morocco ran
at the site of the modern border between Mali and Niger. Subsequently,
the principality of Dendi broke up into several small principalities,
each of which was ruled by a descendant of Askia.
In the 18th
century, most of the territory of Niger came under the rule of the
Tuareg, nomadic tribes that had lived in the north of modern Niger since
the 7th century. They founded the Sultanate of Agadez and had a
commercial base in Niamey. The Tuareg did not have a centralized
government, only when the preservation of their way of life was
threatened, they united in a loose confederation. The south of what is
now Niger was inhabited by sedentary agricultural peoples. In the valley
of the Niger, the Songhai principality of Dendi and the kingdom of Doso
were located. To the east were the Hausa city-states, the largest of
which in Niger were Maradi and Damagaram. After the Fulani Jihad and the
formation of the Sokoto Caliphate, the population of the Nigerian Hausa
states greatly increased due to refugees from the conquered southern
cities.
colonial period
The first European to enter Niger was
the Scot Mungo Park, who explored the Niger River in 1805-1806. Heinrich
Barth and Eduard Vogel made an expedition from the Niger River to Lake
Chad in 1853-1855. They visited Sey (English) Russian. , Sokoto, Zinder,
Gure and Bornu. In 1870, Gustav Nachtigal crossed the territory of Niger
while traveling through the Sahara to Kanem-Borno, visiting Bilma and
Ngigmi. At the Berlin conference in 1884, Niger was included in the
French sphere of influence. At the same time, the exact boundaries were
to be determined by the principle of "effective occupation". In 1897,
the French sent a mission of Captain Kazamaj to Zinder, the capital of
the Damagaram Sultanate. Initially well received, he was assassinated by
one of the factions in the Sultan's court that feared French influence.
To punish the Damagarams and explore the area up to Lake Chad, a
military expedition was equipped under the command of captains Paul
Voulet and Charles Chanoine. The Voule-Shanuan mission went down in the
history of Niger with its cruelty and bloodshed, thousands of local
residents were killed, many Hausan villages were burned.
In 1900,
the French founded the "military territory of Zinder", which later
became part of the colony of Upper Senegal-Niger, which, in turn, was
part of French West Africa. In 1905-1906, Muslim preachers and local
sultans tried to provide armed resistance to the French.
Since
the 1920s, the French colonialists actively introduced the cultivation
of various crops in Niger, intensively developed infrastructure
(primarily the road network) and recruited local residents to work in
industrial enterprises in other coastal colonies in French West Africa.
In 1946, Niger received the status of an overseas territory within
the French Union. An elected General Council was created - a local
self-government body. Basically, the places in it were occupied by the
leaders of local tribes.
1958 - Niger becomes an autonomous
republic of the French Community.
1960 - Gaining independence;
Parliament elects Amani Diori President of the country.
1968-1973 -
Severe drought - massive loss of livestock and destruction of crops.
1974 - The overthrow of Amani Diori in a military coup led by Lieutenant
Seyni Kountché.
1987 - Kunche dies of brain cancer. In his place
comes Ali Seybou, head of the state's armed forces.
1989 - Under a
new constitution, Niger returns to civilian rule, but the country
retains a one-party system. Seibu is elected president.
1990 - Seibu
introduces a multi-party system after a wave of strikes and
demonstrations.
1990 - Tuareg uprising begins in the north.
July
1991 - The Constitutional Forum strips Ceiba of his powers and forms a
transitional government headed by Andre Salifou.
1992 - Under the new
constitution, multi-party elections are introduced in the country.
1993 - Mahamane Ousmane elected president. The coalition that supported
him - the Alliance of the Forces of Change - receives the majority of
seats in parliament.
1995 - A truce is signed between the government
and the Tuareg Revolutionary Armed Forces of the Sahara.
In January
1996, a second military coup took place in Niger, led by Colonel Ibrahim
Bare Mainassara. President Mahaman Usman was expelled from the country.
In May 1996, a new constitution was adopted in a referendum, giving the
president additional powers, as well as limiting political activity in
the country. In July 1996, Mainassara won the presidential election. The
elections themselves were held with violations: all other candidates
were placed under house arrest. Mainassara was criticized for his
repressive actions and several assassination attempts were made.
April 1999 - Major Daouda Malam Wanke succeeds to the presidency after
the assassination of Mainassara by his bodyguards.
August 1999 - A
new constitution approved by referendum restores the balance between the
legislative and executive branches of government.
October-November
1999 - Tandja Mamadou elected president; his party, the National
Movement for the Society in Development, wins the most seats in
parliament.
January 2001 - Hunting of a number of animals, including
lions and giraffes, is banned in Niger.
2004 - Tanja Mamadou is
elected president for a second term.
In August 2009, Tandja Mamadou
initiated a referendum, which adopted amendments to the constitution,
removing restrictions on the number of terms for re-election of the head
of state and giving him additional powers. The amendments were adopted
despite protests from the opposition. The Constitutional Court, which
declared them illegal, has been dissolved. Parliament was also
dissolved. Dissatisfaction with the president grew in the country. On
February 18, 2010, the Niger military carried out a coup d'état. The
creation of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy was
announced, the country's constitution was suspended, the institutions of
power were dissolved, a curfew was introduced, the country's borders and
airspace were closed. President Mamadou Tanja was captured and taken to
one of the barracks. Major Salu Jibo was declared the head of the
military junta that was supposed to organize legitimate presidential
elections. The military promised that none of them or members of the
interim government would participate in the elections. In March 2010,
former tourism minister and rebel leader Rissa Ag Bula was arrested on
charges of murder.
On October 31, 2010, at a constitutional
referendum of 90.19% of the votes with a 52.02% turnout, a new
constitution was adopted, proclaiming the seventh republic. The
presidential elections, together with the parliamentary ones, were held
on January 31, 2011, and on March 12 the second round was held.
Mahamadou Issoufou became the new president of Niger. On April 7, the
inauguration took place, during which Salu Jibo transferred power to the
legitimately elected president.
In May 2011, the Niger authorities
released former President Mamadou Tandjou from prison after being
imprisoned for about 14 months.