Niger or the Niger is formally the Republic of the Niger, a landlocked nation in West Africa called after the Niger River. Niger is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the eastern, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, as well as Algeria to the northwest.

Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), making it the second-largest landlocked nation in West Africa, after Chad. Over 80% of its land area hinges on the Sahara Desert. The country’s predominantly Muslim populace of concerning 22 million live mostly in clusters in the much south and also west of the nation. The funding and also biggest city is Niamey, located in Niger’s southwest corner.

Niger is among the least industrialized countries on the planet. It consistently rates near the bottom in the United Nations’ Human Advancement Index (HDI); it was placed 187th of 188 nations for 2015 and 189th out of 189 countries in the 2018 as well as 2019 records. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are endangered by regular dry spell and also desertification.

The economic situation is focused around subsistence agriculture, with some export farming in the much more abundant southern, and export of basic materials, especially uranium ore. Niger encounters serious obstacles to advancement as a result of its landlocked position, desert terrain, inefficient farming, high fertility prices without birth control and resulting overpopulation, the bad educational level and poverty of its individuals, lack of framework, inadequate health care, as well as environmental deterioration.

Nigerien society mirrors a diversity drawn from the lengthy independent histories of its several ethnic groups and regions and their fairly brief duration living in a solitary state. Historically, what is currently Niger has gotten on the edges of several large states. Given that self-reliance, Nigeriens have lived under five constitutions and also three periods of army policy. After the army successful stroke in 2010, Niger ended up being an autonomous, multi-party state. A bulk of the populace resides in rural areas and has little accessibility to advanced education and learning.