Niger Geography - 2024

Location

Western Africa, southeast of Algeria

Geographic coordinates

16 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 1.267 million sq km

land: 1,266,700 sq km

water: 300 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 5,834 km

border countries (7): Algeria 951 km; Benin 277 km; Burkina Faso 622 km; Chad 1,196 km; Libya 342 km; Mali 838 km; Nigeria 1,608 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (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

highest point: Idoukal-n-Taghes 2,022 m

lowest point: Niger River 200 m

mean elevation: 474 m

Natural resources

uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum

Land use

agricultural land: 35.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 12.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 22.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 1% (2018 est.)

other: 63.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

2,666 sq km (2020)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Chad (endorheic lake shared with Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon) - 10,360-25,900 sq km
note - area varies by season and year to year

Major rivers (by length in km)

Niger (shared with Guinea [s], Mali, Benin, and Nigeria [m]) - 4,200 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lake Chad Basin, Lullemeden-Irhazer Basin, Murzuk-Djado Basin

Population distribution

majority of the populace is located in the southernmost extreme of the country along the border with Nigeria and Benin as shown in this

Natural hazards

recurring droughts

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