Africa Mobile: Zambia And Niger

By Author: Mike Kofi Okyere
Total Articles: 3698
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Niger

The Republic of Niger resides in Western Africa, bordering Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Chad. Niger's first empire was Songhai. In recent years, the Tuareg nomadic formed the vast confederations that urged south to the sides of several states in Hausa and then collided with The Empires of Sokoto, known as Fulani. Control was established in the 18th century of the Hausa territories and later explorers from Europe began to populate the lands.

Achieving its independence from France in 1960, Niger is a parliamentary democracy. Utilizing a foreign policy that is friendly to both Islamic countries and the Western world, Niger is part of the United Nations. It has a great relationship with France, but it still is the poorest country in the world. Niger's economy is based upon subsistence agriculture and uranium, but with the latter receiving lesser demand, the country's economy has been hit.

With nearly 14 million people in the population, Niger's largest ethnic group is the Hausa, which comprises 90% of the population.

Zambia

The landlocked Republic ...
... of Zambia borders the Congo's Democratic-Republic, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, and Angola.

Achieving its independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, the government is a republic. English is the primary language, with eight major languages also spoken in the country.

Approximately 73% of the population in Zambia lives below the poverty line, and Zambia is one of the world's poorest countries. Although the economy is growing, it cannot keep up with the increase of population that is plagued with HIV/AIDS. Approximately one million people in the population have HIV/AIDS, and it decreases the worker productivity in the country. The country's main economic export is copper, but output has fallen recently.

With 11 million in population, Zambia has approximately 72 different ethnic groups that speak Bantu. Christianity is the most predominant religion, but there are also many different religious traditions.