The Republic of Niger and Its Struggle for Political Stability

Niger, not to be confused with the larger country Nigeria, is a country located in the western part of the African continent. The country is officially known as the Republic of Niger, and it neighbors Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Nigeria, and Benin. The country is also landlocked which is unfortunate, because the economy is not able to capitalize on the lucrative fishing industry along the African coastline, a sector that makes up a large part of most African economies. Not only is the country landlocked, but the land that it does have tends to be very arid and thus infertile. Like most African countries, the economy is still in development and relies heavily on the agricultural sector. Niger is the twenty-second largest country in the world in terms of geographic area with approximately 490,000 square miles, though it isn't densely populated and has a population of only 12 million people. Of those 12 million people, approximately six percent of the population, 700,000, reside in the capital and largest city Niamey.

Niger is a former French colony that was colonized in the 19th century like most other countries on the African continent. When the French colonized the country, Niamey was a small, traditional village of ethnic tribes (specifically the Fulani, Maouri, and Zerma people), but after World War II the town experienced a huge population boom. Due to its French roots, there are a lot of aspects of French culture still evident in Niger, particularly in Niamey, including the French language which is widely spoken. In addition to French, Arabic and other tribal languages are also spoken, though French tends to be the universal, "official" language. Now, as well as being the capital and largest city, Niamey is the country's commercial center. Aside from the city of Niamey though, the population of Niger largely resides in rural villages throughout the semidesert and Saharan desert, two geographic terrains that take up a bulk of the country's area.