Part 615

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Ibrahim BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996); note - President is chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ibraham BARE Mainassara (since 28 January 1996); note - President is chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Amadou Boubacar CISSE (since 21 December 1996) was appointed by the president cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by President BARE elections : the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; last election 7-8 July 1996 (next election NA 2001); note - Ibrahim BARE Mainassara initially became president when he ousted President Mahamane OUSMANE in a coup on 27 January 1996 and subsequently defeated him in the flawed election of July 1996 election results: percent of total vote - Ibrahim BARE Mainassara 52.22%, Mahamane OUSMANE 19.75%, Tandja MAMADOU 15.65%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 7.60%, Moumouni AMADOU Djermakoye 4.77%

Legislative branch: two chamber National Assembly; one chamber with 83 seats directly elected by proportional representation for five-year terms; selection process for second chamber not established elections: last held 23 November1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results : percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UNIRD 59, ANDPS-Zaman Lahiya 8, UDPS-Amana 3, coalition of independents 3, MDP-Alkwali 1, UPDP-Shamuwa 4, DARAJA 3, PMT-Albarka 2

Judicial branch: State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeal or Cour d'Apel

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP-AUMUNCI [Issoufou BACHARD, chairman]; DARAJA [Ali TALBA, chairman]; Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; Movement for Development and Pan-Africanism or MDP-Alkwali [Mai Manga BOUCAR, chairman]; National Movement of the Development Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Tandja MAMADOU, chairman]; National Union of Independents for Democratic Revival or UNIRD [leader NA]; Niger Progressive Party-African Democratic Rally or PPN-RDA [Dori ABDOULAI]; Niger Social Democrat Party or PADN [Malam Adji WAZIRI]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism-Tarayya or PNDS-Tarayya [Mahamadou ISSOUFOU]; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahia or ANDPS-Zaman Lahia [Moumouni Adamou DJERMAKOYE]; PMT-Albarka; Union for Democracy and Social Progress-Amana or UDPS-Amana [Akoli DAOUEL]; Union of Patriots, Democrats, and Progressives-Shamuwa or UPDP-Shamuwa [Professor Andre' SALIFOU, chairman]; Union of Popular Forces for Democracy and Progress-Sawaba or UFPDP-Sawaba [Djibo BAKARY, chairman]

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph DIATTA chancery : 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 483-4224 through 4227

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Charles O. CECIL (20 August 1996) embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone : 72 26 61 through 72 26 64 FAX: 73 31 67

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band

Economy

Economy - overview: Niger is a poor, landlocked Sub-Saharan nation, whose recent GDP growth has barely matched the rapid growth of population. The economy is centered on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, and reexport trade, and increasingly less on uranium, its major export throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Terms of trade with Nigeria, Niger's largest regional trade partner, have improved dramatically since the 50% devaluation of the African franc in January 1994; this devaluation boosted exports of livestock, peas, onions, and the products of Niger's small cotton industry. The government relies on bilateral and multilateral aid for operating expenses and public investment and is strongly induced to adhere to structural adjustment programs designed by the IMF and the World Bank. The US terminated bilateral assistance to Niger after the coup of 1996. Other donors have reduced their aid.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $5.9 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $640 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 41% industry: 18% services: 41% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 10.6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: total: 2.5 million wage earners (1982) by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and commerce 6%, government 4%

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues: $200 million expenditures : $387 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries: cement, brick, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses, and a few other small light industries; uranium mining

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1994 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 105,000 kW (1991)

Electricity - production: 230 million kWh (1991) note: imports about 200 million kW of electricity from Nigeria

Electricity - consumption per capita: 53 kWh (1991 est.)

Agriculture - products: cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats

Exports: total value: $247 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.) commodities: uranium ore 67%, livestock products 20%, cowpeas, onions partners: France 77%, Nigeria 8%, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Canada

Imports: total value : $307 million (c.i.f., 1995 est.) commodities: consumer goods, primary materials, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals partners: France 23%, Cote d'Ivoire, China, Belgium-Luxembourg

Debt - external: $1.6 billion (1995 est.)