Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger
local long form: Republique du Niger
local short form: Niger
etymology: named after the Niger River that passes through the southwest of the country; from a native term "Ni Gir" meaning "River Gir"

Government type:
republic

Capital:
name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
7 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder

Independence:
3 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
Republic Day, 18 December (1958); note - commemorates the founding of the Republic of Niger which predated independence from France in 1960

Constitution:
several previous; passed by referendum 31 October 2010, entered into force 25 November 2010 (2015)

Legal system:
mixed legal system of civil law (based on French civil law), Islamic law, and customary law

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Niger
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: unknown

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President ISSOUFOU Mahamadou (since 7 April 2011)
head of government: Prime Minister Brigi RAFINI (since 7 April 2011)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the president, authorized by the National Assembly
election results: ISSOUFOU Mahamadou elected president; percent of vote in second round - ISSOUFOU Mahamadou (PNDS-Tarrayya) 58%, Seini OUMAROU (MNSD-Nassara) 42%

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (113 seats; 105 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 8 directly elected in special single-seat constituencies for minorities by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 31 January 2011 (next to be held on 21 February 2016)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 33.0%, MNSD-Nassara 20.6%, MODEN/FA-Lumana 19.7%, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 7.5%, RDP-Jama'a 6.5%, UDR-Tabbat 5.4%, CDS-Rahama 3.3%, UNI 1.0%, other 3.0%; seats by party - PNDS-Tarrayya 39, MNSD-Nassara 23, MODEN/FA-Lumana 25, ANDP-Zaman Lahiya 8, RDP-Jama'a 7, UDR-Tabbat 6, CDS-Rahama 3, UNI 1

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Constitutional Court (consists of 7 judges); High Court of Justice (consists of 7 members)
judge selection and term of office: Constitutional Court judges nominated/elected - 1 by the president of the Republic, 1 by the president of the National Assembly, 2 by peer judges, 2 by peer lawyers, 1 law professor by peers, and 1 from within Nigerien society; all appointed by the president; judges serve 6-year nonrenewable terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years; High Judicial Court members selected from among the legislature and judiciary; members serve 5-year terms
subordinate courts: Court of Cassation; Council of State; Court of Finances; various specialized tribunals and customary courts

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE] National Movement for a Society of Development-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Seini OUMAROU] National Union of Independents or UNI [Amadou DJIBO ALI] Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moussa Moumouni DJERMAKOYE] Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation or MODEN/FA Lumana [Hama AMADOU] Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Mohamed BAZOUM] Rally for Democracy and Progress-Jama'a or RDP-Jama'a [Hamid ALGABID] Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU] Union for Democracy and the Republic-Tabbat or UDR-Tabbat [Amadou Boubacar CISSE]
note: the SPLM and SPLM-DC are banned political parties

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Hassana ALIDOU (since 23 February 2015)
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227
FAX: [1] (202) 483-3169

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Eunice S. REDDICK (since 12 September 2014)
embassy: BP 11201, Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey
mailing address: 2420 Niamey Place, Washington DC 20521-2420
telephone: [227] 20-73-31-69 or [227] 20-72-39-41
FAX: [227] 20-73-55-60

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk centered in the white band; the orange band denotes the drier northern regions of the Sahara; white stands for purity and innocence; green symbolizes hope and the fertile and productive southern and western areas, as well as the Niger River; the orange disc represents the sun and the sacrifices made by the people
note: similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band

National symbol(s):
zebu; national colors: orange, white, green

National anthem:
name: "La Nigerienne" (The Nigerien)
lyrics/music: Maurice Albert THIRIET/Robert JACQUET and Nicolas Abel Francois FRIONNET
note: adopted 1961