Niger is a vast, landlocked country in West Africa, named after the great river that crosses its southwestern corner, though most of its territory lies within the Sahara Desert and the semi-arid Sahel. One of the hottest countries in the world, it is also among the poorest, with a young and fast-growing population pressing on a fragile environment. Rich in uranium and crossed by ancient trade routes, Niger has in recent years faced drought, extremist violence, and political upheaval.
The lands of Niger lay along the trans-Saharan trade routes and were touched by the great medieval empires of West Africa, including the Songhai Empire, as well as the Hausa city-states and the Kanem-Bornu realm to the east. The desert oasis town of Agadez became an important centre of caravan trade. France conquered the region in the early twentieth century, ruling it as part of French West Africa, and Niger gained its independence in 1960, taking its name, like the river, from a term meaning flowing water.
Niger is overwhelmingly desert, with the Sahara covering the great northern expanse of the country, including dramatic mountains and dune fields, giving way southward to the semi-arid Sahel where most people live. The land is hot and dry, with a single short rainy season, and is prone to drought and to the slow advance of the desert. The Niger River waters the southwest, and the southeast reaches the shrinking waters of Lake Chad, but most of the country is arid and thinly settled.
The flag of Niger has three horizontal bands of orange, white, and green, with an orange circle in the centre of the white band. The orange is often said to represent the Sahara Desert and the savanna, the white purity and the river, and the green the fertile lands of the south and hope. The central orange disc is widely understood to represent the sun, fitting for one of the hottest countries on Earth.
Niger is an overwhelmingly Muslim country, with the great majority of the population following Sunni Islam, a faith that arrived across the Sahara many centuries ago and is central to daily life, law, and culture. Islam in Niger has long included strong Sufi traditions and has generally been marked by tolerance. Small Christian and traditional-religion minorities exist, and ancient customs sometimes persist alongside Islamic practice in this land at the meeting point of the desert and the savanna.
The cuisine of Niger is based on the hardy grains of the Sahel, above all millet and sorghum, which are made into porridges and the thick staple known as tuwo or boule, eaten with sauces. These sauces are often made from leaves, okra, or peanuts, and may include meat or dried fish, while rice and beans are also common. Dairy from the herds of the Fulani and Tuareg peoples, and grilled meat, complete a diet adapted to a hot, dry land.
Agriculture and herding are the livelihood of most people in Niger, carried out in a harsh and unpredictable environment at the edge of the desert. Farmers grow millet, sorghum, cowpeas, and onions, an important export crop, on the limited fertile land of the south, while pastoralists herd cattle, goats, sheep, and camels across the Sahel, moving with the seasons. Recurring droughts make food security a constant challenge. The country also possesses significant deposits of uranium, a key export.
The medieval empires and the trans-Saharan caravan trade through Agadez shaped the region, and independence from France came in 1960. Niger's modern history has been marked by recurring drought and famine, rebellions among the Tuareg of the north, and, in recent years, the spread of armed extremist groups across the Sahel that has brought serious violence and displacement. The country has also experienced repeated military coups amid its political and security challenges.
Niger has a population of around 26 million people and one of the highest birth rates in the world, giving it a very young and rapidly growing population. It is made up of several ethnic groups, including the Hausa, the Zarma, the Fulani, and the Tuareg of the desert, speaking many languages with French as the official tongue. Most people are Muslim and live in the southern band of the country, away from the desert, with the capital, Niamey, set on the Niger River.
