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Flag of Niger

Flag of Niger

Niger, officially named the Republic of Niger, in OTL is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 sq km, over 80 percent of which is covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15 million is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey.

Niger is a developing country. It has the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) on Earth. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials - especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.

Nigerien society reflects a great diversity drawn from the long independent histories of its several ethnic groups and regions and their relatively short period living in a single state. Historically, what is now Niger has been on the fringes of several large states. Since independence, Nigerians have lived under five constitutions and three periods of military rule. A majority live in rural areas, and have little access to advanced education.


Alternate versions of Niger have been discovered in the multiverse:

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