Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

Geographic coordinates: 16 00N, 8 00 E

Area: total: 1.267 million sq km,water: 300 sq km, land: 1,266,700 sq km

Area comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km,Nigeria 1,497 km

Coastline:0 km (landlocked)

Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south

Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Niger River 200m, highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m

Natural resources: uranium,coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, petroleum

Land use: arable land: 3.54%, permanent crops: 0.01%, other: 96.45% (2001)

Natural hazards:recurring droughts

Environment - current issues:overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction.

Geography note: landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world: northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture.

See Temperature and Rainfall in Niamey.

Source: CIA World Factbook