Country and Culture

History

People have lived in Niger since prehistoric times, when the Sahara was much wetter and supported abundant wildlife. Hunter-gatherer societies left some magnificent rock art to record their presence. Islam came to Niger across the Sahara in the 12th century and gradually spread throughout the country. There were several Muslim kingdoms that spread into what are now Chad, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

In the late 19th century, the French extended their colonial rule from the Atlantic eastward through Chad, and Niger became part of French West Africa. It gained its independence in 1960.

Government

At independence, Niger became a constitutional democracy, with an elected president and a National Assembly. However, there have been frequent military coups and a great deal of political instability.

A 1996 military coup led to the departure of many international aid agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development. In late 1999, however, democratic elections were held, and the new government of President Mamadou Tandja brought renewed stability. Tandja was reelected in 2004, and elections were also held for the newly created local government bodies. With the restoration of democracy, many international donors returned, and there has been renewed economic growth.

Economy

Niger's harsh climate, geographic isolation, lack of natural resources, environmental degradation, and rapid population growth (3.6 percent annually) make it one of the world's poorest countries, ranking 177 out of 177 on the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index. The per capita GDP in 2003 was $185. All of Niger's economic and social indicators are grim. The following indicators are from a UNFPA report released in 2005:

• Per 1,000 children born, 255 die before their fifth birthday.
• Fifty-one percent of school-age children attend primary school.
• Twenty-seven percent of the population over age 15 is literate.
• Forty-six percent of households have access to potable drinking water.
• Forty percent of children under five are below normal weight; 20 percent are emaciated.

The majority of the people Volunteers work with are concerned primarily with meeting basic needs that are taken for granted in much of the rest of the world.

Niger has few natural resources. There are large uranium deposits near Arlit in the northern part of the country, and in the 1970s, a worldwide uranium boom ushered in a brief period of strong economic growth and infrastructure improvements. In 1980, however, with the decline of the nuclear power industry, the uranium market collapsed and Niger entered a period of rapid economic deterioration, aggravated by recurrent droughts and political instability. A recent World Bank study found that the average Nigerien is worse off today than three decades ago.

Millet, a type of grain, is the staple food in most of the country. To be eaten, it must be pounded into flour, which is then cooked and eaten with a sauce of vegetables or occasionally meat. Sorghum, which is also grown, is prepared similarly. Along the Niger River, which runs through the southwestern part of the country, rice and other irrigated crops are common, and rice is a common food in urban areas.

Culture

The ethnic groups represented in Niger are Hausa (56 percent), Djerma (22 percent), Fulani (8.5 percent), Tuareg (8 percent), and several others. More than 90 percent of the population is Muslim. Adherents of Islam in Niger tend to be more moderate and tolerant than the fundamentalists who often make headlines in the Western media, and there has been no terrorist activity by such groups in Niger. Indigenous belief systems and Christianity also have numerous practitioners.

French is the official language. It is widely spoken in urban areas and commonly used in government offices, international and nongovernmental organizations, and the media. However, learning one or more of the national languages (Hausa, Djerma, Fulfulde, Tamashek, and others—each tending to predominate in different regions) is a must for living in rural areas and becoming integrated into the community.

Environment

Niger is a large country—almost twice the size of Texas—with a very hot and dry climate. The northern two-thirds of its territory lie within the Sahara Desert, and most of its 12 million people live in the semi-arid zone across the southern third of the country known as the Sahel. About 80 percent are subsistence farmers and herders who use the same production techniques that have been practiced for hundreds of years, while the rest live in Niamey (the capital, a city of about 1 million people) and a few towns, such as Maradi, Zinder, Agadez, Tahoua, Dosso, and Diffa.

Increasing population pressure on the limited amount of arable land and a prolonged dry cycle over the past four decades have resulted in severe loss of vegetative cover (grasses, shrubs, and trees) and an accompanying decline in soil fertility. Desertification, the process of land degradation associated with the gradual southward creep of the Sahara, has affected a substantial area in Niger. Despite extensive development efforts, Niger suffers from periodic droughts and famines and is barely self-sufficient in food production even in relatively good years.

Last updated Sep 28 2008