Regions of Niger
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Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, 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...

 is divided into 7 Regions (French: régions; singular région). Each department's capital is the same as its name.

Current regions

  • Agadez Region
  • Diffa Region
  • Dosso Region
  • Maradi Region
  • Tahoua Region
  • Tillabéri Region
  • Zinder Region
  • Additionally, the national capital, Niamey
    Niamey
    -Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

    , comprises a capital district.

Current administrative structure

The Regions are subdivided into Departments
Departments of Niger
||The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 Departments . Before the devolution program on 1999-2005, these Departments were styled arrondissements. Confusingly, the next level up had, before 2002-2005 been styled Departments. Prior to a revision in 2011, there had been 36 Departments. A draft...

 and communes
Communes of Niger
The Departments of Niger are subdivided into communes. As of 2005, in the seven Regions and one Capital Area, there were 36 départements, divided into 265 communes, 122 cantons and 81 groupements...

. As of 2005, there were 36 départements, divided into 265 communes, 122 cantons and 81 groupements. The latter two categories cover all areas not covered by Urban Communes (population over 10000) or Rural Communes (population under 10000), and are governed by the Department, whereas Communes have (since 1999) elected councils and mayors. Additional semi-autonomous sub-divisions include Sultanates, Provinces and Tributaries (tribus). The Nigerien government estimates there are an additional 17000 Villages administered by Rural Communes, while there are a number of Quartiers (boroughs  or neighborhoods) administered by Urban Communes.

Restructuring

Prior to the devolution program on 1999-2006, these Regions were styled Departments. Confusingly, the next level down (Arrondissements) were renamed Departments.]

1992 division

Tillabéri department was created in 1992, when Niamey
Niamey
-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

 Region (then called "department") was split, with the area immediately outside Niamey renamed as the capital district.

Historical evolution

Prior to independence, Niger was divided into sixteen Cercles
Cercle (French colonial)
Cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration in French Colonial Africa that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages, and was instituted in France's African colonies from 1895 to 1946.At the...

 as second level administration divisions: Agadez, Birni N'Konni, Dogondoutchi, Dosso, Filingué, Gouré, Madaoua, Magaria, Maradi, N'Guigmi, Niamey, Tahoua, Téra, Tessaoua, Tillabéry, and Zinder. Their capitals had the same names as the cercle.

After independence, the 31 December 1961 Law of territorial organization created 31 circonscriptions. The 16 colonial cercles continued to exist, and served as a level of division above these circonscriptions. Four cercles (Dogondoutchi, Filingué, N'Guigmi, and Téra) had only one circonscription. The Law of August 14, 1964 then reorganized the country into seven departments, adopting the French second level administration naming system, in contrast to neighbor Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

, which retained the colonial Cercles
Cercles of Mali
A cercle is the second level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight regions and one capital district . These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city. The regions are divided into 49 cercles....

 and Regions
Regions of Mali
||Mali is divided into eight regions and one capital district. Each of the regions bears the name of its principal city. The regions are divided into 49 cercles. The cercles and the capital district are divided into 703 communes....

.

See also

  • Departments of Niger
    Departments of Niger
    ||The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 Departments . Before the devolution program on 1999-2005, these Departments were styled arrondissements. Confusingly, the next level up had, before 2002-2005 been styled Departments. Prior to a revision in 2011, there had been 36 Departments. A draft...

  • Communes of Niger
    Communes of Niger
    The Departments of Niger are subdivided into communes. As of 2005, in the seven Regions and one Capital Area, there were 36 départements, divided into 265 communes, 122 cantons and 81 groupements...

  • ISO 3166-2:NE
    ISO 3166-2:NE
    ISO 3166-2:NE is the entry for Niger in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Niger, ISO 3166-2 codes are defined...

     for the region codes under the ISO 3166-2
    ISO 3166-2
    ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1...

     standard.
  • List of FIPS region codes (M-O) for the department codes under the FIPS 10-4
    FIPS 10-4
    The FIPS 10-4 standard, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions, lists two-letter country codes that are used by the U.S. Government for geographical data processing in many publications, such as the CIA World Factbook. The standard is...

    standard.
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