Niger

 

Niger or the Niger[13][14] (/niːˈʒɛər, ˈnaɪdʒər/ nee-ZHAIR, NY-jər,[15][16] French: [niʒɛʁ]),[a] officially the Republic of the Niger[13][14] (French: République du Niger; Hausa: Jamhuriyar Nijar), is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. It covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), making it the largest landlocked country in West Africa. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its predominantly Muslim population of about 25 million[17][18] live mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country. The capital Niamey is located in Niger's southwest corner. 

According to Multidimensional poverty index (MPI) report of 2023, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world.[19] Some non-desert portions of the country undergo periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence agriculture, with some export agriculture in the less arid south, and export of raw materials, including uranium ore. It faces challenges to development due to its landlocked position, desert terrain, low literacy rate, jihadist insurgencies, and the world's highest fertility rates due to birth control not being used and the resulting rapid population growth.[20]

Its society reflects a diversity drawn from the independent histories of some ethnic groups and regions and their period living in a single state. Historically, Niger has been on the fringes of some states. Since independence, Nigeriens have lived under five constitutions and three periods of military rule. After the military coup in 2010, Niger became a multi-party state. A majority of the population lives in rural areas. 

 

Etymology

The name comes from the Niger River which flows through the west of the country. The origin of the river's name is uncertain. Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy wrote descriptions of the wadi Gir (in neighbouring modern Algeria) and the Ni-Gir ("Lower Gir") to the south, possibly referring to the Niger River.[21] The modern spelling Niger was first recorded by Berber scholar Leo Africanus in 1550,[22] possibly derived from the Tuareg phrase gher-n-gheren meaning "river of rivers".[23] There is broad consensus among linguists that it does not derive from the Latin niger ("black") as was first erroneously believed.[21] The standard pronunciation in English is /niːˈʒɛər/, while in some Anglophone media /ˈnaɪdʒər/ is also used.  

 
History 

Main article: History of Niger
Prehistory 

 

Rock engraving showing herds of giraffe, ibex, and other animals in the southern Sahara near Tiguidit, Niger

Stone tools, some dating as far back as 280,000 BC, have been found in Adrar Bous, Bilma and Djado in the northern Agadez Region.[24] Some of these finds have been linked with the Aterian and Mousterian tool cultures of the Middle Paleolithic period, which flourished in northern Africa circa 90,000 BC–20,000 BC.[25][24] It is thought that these humans lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.[24] In prehistoric times the climate of the Sahara was wetter and more fertile during the African humid period, a phenomenon archaeologists refer to as the "Green Sahara" ,which provided "favourable" conditions for hunting and later agriculture and livestock herding.[26][27]