t industries; uranium mining began in 1971
Agriculture:
accounts for roughly 40% of GDP and 90% of labor force; cash crops -
cowpeas, cotton, peanuts; food crops - millet, sorghum, cassava, rice;
livestock - cattle, sheep, goats; self-sufficient in food except in
drought years
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $380 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
$3.165 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $504 million; Communist
countries (1970-89), $61 million
Currency:
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 592.05
(January 1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26
(1990), 319.01 (1989)
note:
the official rate is pegged to the French franc, and beginning 12
January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc
from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year:
1 October - 30 September

@Niger, Communications

Highways:
total:
39,970 km
paved:
bituminous 3,170 km
unpaved:
gravel, laterite 10,330 km; earth 3,470 km; tracks 23,000 km
Inland waterways:
Niger River is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin
frontier from mid-December through March
Airports:
total:
30
usable:
28
with permanent-surface runways:
9
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
14
Telecommunications:
small system of wire, radiocommunications, and radio relay links
concentrated in southwestern area; 14,260 telephones; broadcast
stations - 15 AM, 5 FM, 18 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic
Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 3 domestic, with 1
planned

@Niger, Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Police, Republican Guard
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,845,374; fit for military service 994,683; reach
military age (18) annually 91,595 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $27 million, 1.3% of GDP (1989)

@Nigeria, Geography

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Benin and
Cameroon
Map references:
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
923,770 sq km
land area:
910,770 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total 4,