Land use: arable land: 3.94% permanent crops: 0% other: 96.06% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
660 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
recurring droughts
Environment - current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world: northern
four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for
livestock and limited agriculture
People Niger
Population:
11,058,590 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.6% (male 2,686,169; female 2,581,785)
15-64 years: 50.2% (male 2,710,554; female 2,842,319)
65 years and over: 2.2% (male 125,505; female 112,258) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 16.1 years
male: 15.6 years
female: 16.6 years (2002)