Countries

The Republic of Niger, located in western Africa, is bounded on the north by Algeria and Libya, on the east by Chad, on the south by Nigeria and Benin, and on the west by Burkina Faso and Mali. It is a landlocked country with an area of 1 267 000 km² and lies between latitudes 11° 37´ and 23° 23´ N and longitudes 0° and 15° E.

The terrain is composed of the continental African base covered by sediment and débris and smoothed by erosion. The altitude of this monotonous landscape ranges from 200 to 500 m. However, there are some very old or volcanic mountains - the Tamgak mountains (1 800 m) in Aïr in the north-west, overlooking the Iferouane valley - and the vast expanse of the Ténéré dunes. Altitudes also rise sharply in the north-east on the border with Chad and north of Zinder in Damergou. In the south-west the Niger River flows for 300 km from the border with Mali to Gaya over a large plain cut by dry valleys. In the south-east the country encompasses the north-west bank of Lake Chad.

The country has over 500 000 km² of Saharan desert, including the Ténéré. The remainder of the country is comprised of the following climatic zones:

• The Sahelo-Saharan zone, covering some 450 000 km², with an annual rainfall of 100 to 350 mm;
• The Sahelian zone proper, covering about 200 000 km², with an annual rainfall of 350 to 550 mm;
• The Sudano-Sahelian zone, represented by a narrow strip in the south and a small Sudanian enclave in the south-west on the borders with Benin and Nigeria, with an annual rainfall of 550 to 850 mm.

The rainy season lasts from June to October in the south, with maximum rainfall in August, but gets steadily shorter further north as the rain becomes more irregular and lighter. The dry season, from October to June, is hot until November, then relatively cool until mid-March, and very hot again in April and May with a burning east wind. Higher areas, especially in Aïr, receive more rain than low, desert-climate areas. The average annual temperature at Niamey, in the south-east, is 29° C, but temperatures can reach as high as 50 °C in the desert.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.