Geography of Niger

Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa located along the border between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan regions. Its geographic coordinates are longitude 16°N and latitude 8°E.

Area

:* Total:

!Population <br> (2012 census)

|Agadez

|667,799

|487,620

|Diffa

|156,906

|593,821

|Dosso

|33,844

|2,037,713

|Maradi

|41,796

|3,402,094

|Niamey

|402

|1,026,848

|Tahoua

|113,371

|3,328,365

|Tillabéri

|97,251

|2,722,842

|Zinder

|155,778

|3,539,764

The national capital, Niamey, comprises a capital district.

Departments

thumb|right|The pre-2011 36 [[Departments of Niger. A further 27 were then carved out of existing divisions.]]

The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 Departments.

Communes

The 63 Departments are broken down into Communes. As of 2006 there were 265 communes, including communes urbaines (Urban Communes: centred in or as subdivisions of cities of over 10000), communes rurales (Rural Communes) centred in cities of under 10,000 and/or sparsely populated areas, and a variety of traditional (clan or tribal) bodies amongst semi-nomadic populations.

File:Niger communes.png|Communes of Niger

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Cities

Image:NigerOMC.png|Niger's cities, main towns and other centres

File:1997 277-16A Agadez hotel.jpg|Agadez is the largest city in central Niger, with a population of 88,569 (2005 census)

File:Niamey night.jpg|Niamey, the Capital of Niger

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Roadways

File:SNTVbus-Ouagadougou-Niamey.jpg|A state-run SNTV coach running between Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Niamey, Niger

File:Blvd_Mali_Bero_from_grand_mosquee_niamey.jpg|Truck and car traffic along Boulevard Mali Bero, Niamey, Niger

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Physical geography

Agricultural geography

thumb|275px|A satellite image depicting the [[physical geography of Niger]]

Some of the land in Niger is used as arable land (660 km<sup>2</sup> of land in Niger is irrigated) and as pasture. There are some forests and woodland. The table below describes land use in Niger, as of 2011.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Land use

! Use !! Percentage of Area

! Arable land

| 11.79

|source 2=Danish Meteorological Institute

Current issues

Current environmental issues in Niger include overgrazing, soil erosion, deforestation, desertification, recurring droughts, and endangered wildlife populations (such as the African elephant, Northwest African cheetah, West African giraffe, and Addax), which are threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction.

Natural hazards

thumb|The [[Sahel region is a belt up to 1,000 km wide that spans Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea]]

Recurring droughts are a serious challenge for Niger. The 2012 Sahel drought, along with failed crops, insect plagues, high food prices and conflicts is currently affecting Niger causing a hunger crisis. Many families in Niger, still recovering from the 2010 Sahel famine, are being affected by the 2012 Sahel drought.

The 2005–06 Niger food crisis created a severe, but localized food security crisis in the regions of northern Maradi, Tahoua, Tillabéri, and Zinder of Niger from 2005 to 2006. It was caused by an early end to the 2004 rains, desert locust damage to some pasture lands, high food prices, and chronic poverty.

Extreme points

Northernmost point: Tripoint with Algeria and Libya, Agadez Region: 23°31'N.
Southernmost point: Benin/Niger/Nigeria tripoint, Dosso Region: 11°42'N
Easternmost point: border with Chad, Agadez Region: 16°00'E
Westernmost point: border with Mali and Burkina Faso, Tillabéri Region: 0°07'E
Highest point: Mont Idoukal-n-Taghès, Aïr Massif, Agadez Region:

National parks and reserves

thumb|[[IUCN Protected area in Niger]]

Niger's protected areas comprise about 7.7 percent of the total land area. Six of the reserves are fully categorized under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Natural resources

Niger possesses the following natural resources:

Uranium
Coal
Iron ore
Tin
Molybdenum
Gypsum
Salt
Oil

Waterways

File:Lake Chad from Apollo 7.jpg|Lake Chad as seen from Apollo 7

File:Niger River Center Island.jpg|Mud houses on the center island at Lake Debo, a wide section of the Niger River

File:Oasis-Bilma.jpg|The oasis at Bilma, Niger

File:Timia Oasis.JPG|The Timia oasis

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Wildlife

File:Elephants bath park w Niger 2006.jpg|African bush elephants photographed in the Niger section of the W National Park complex of protected areas.

File:Girafeskoure.jpg|West African giraffes in Kouré, Niger.

File:Musophaga violacea-20080321.jpg|A Violet turaco.

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Political geography

Surrounded by seven other countries, Niger has a total of 5,834 km of borders. The longest border is with Nigeria to the south, at 1,608 km. This is followed by Chad to the east (1,196 km), Algeria to the north-northwest (951 km), and Mali to the west (838 km). Niger also has short borders in its far southwest frontier (Burkina Faso at 622 km and Benin at 277 km) and to the north-northeast (Libya at 342 km).