By Marie Biehl and Hannah Coyne

actual picture of Niger!Taken by satellite

Pictures from Wikipedia

Did you know French is their official language?

Or that their water percentage is only .02%?

Or that they are a Presidential Republic?

And that they have a Prime Minister AND a President?

And that they drive on the right side of the road?

Or maybe that they are named after the Niger River?(obviously…)

Or maybe that their independence was declared on August 3, 1960?

Or maybe that their motto is “Fraternité, Travail, Progrès”…

(Which means “Fraternity, Work, Progress”)

Or that 80% of their land is Sahara Desert?

And that Republique du Niger is its official name?

GEOGRAPHY!

Landlocked West Africa It lies at the southern edge of the Sahara desert Slightly less than twice the size of Texas Borders 7 countries, which are Nigeria, Chad,

Libya, Algeria, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso… The Niger River (in the southwest) flows

through the country's only fertile area. The terrain is mainly desert plains and sand

dunes, with flat to rolling plains in the south and hills in the north.

Much of Northern Niger is covered by rolling sand dunes. It is true desert A surprisingly green mountainous region, known as the Air,

rises in the North part of the country. Mount Greboun, Niger’s highest point at 6,376 ft, is located

there In southern Niger there is a grassy steppe, or plain, which

receives low to temperate rain fall Niger River Kaouar-tal

Climate!

The majority of the time their climate is hot and dry.

the majority of their land is desert. Receives less than 4 inches of rain

a year

Agriculture useAgriculture use

Agriculture is the main economic activity of a bulk of Niger's 13,000,000 citizens.

Mainly based on subsistence farming. Crops can be grown in a grassy steppe in

the lower part of the country, but the sandy soil does not retain much moisture.

They sell cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava, rice, livestock

Once part of the Mali Kingdom. 1790-Niger was explored by Mungo Park of Scotland 1850-Also explored by Heinrich Barth of Germany ~ By the end of the 1800’s France ruled the South 1922-Colony of Niger was created 1958- Niger became a self governing member of the French

community. 1960- Niger gained full independence 1960 to 1974-Niger was severely affected by the great Sahel

Drought 1974-HamaniDiori was overthrown in a military coup 1987-Lieutenant Colonel General Seyni Kountche died 1993- Elections for new president 1996-Mahamane Ousmane was overthrown 1999-Mainassara was assassinated

CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

For our cultures and traditions section we are going to show some old cultural recipes in a new setting …

Mango salad Chin-Chin3 Caakiri

ECONOMY

Agriculture is the main economic activity of a bulk of Niger's 13,000,000 citizens.

Mainly based on subsistence farming. Agriculture: They sell cowpeas, cotton,

peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava, rice, livestock,

Manufactured: They sell cement, bricks, textiles, and processed food

Mineral: They sell uranium, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, coal, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum

Africa Today…pt.1

They are a poor country. land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km Natural Hazards: recurring droughts Environment's current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion;

deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations threatened because of poaching (illegal hunting) and habitat destruction

Population: 15,306,252 Median Age: total: 15.2 years male: 14.9 years female: 15.4 years

Africa Today…pt.2

MAJOR INFECTOUS DISEASES…: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal

diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria water contact disease: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been

identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

Niger Animals: