Editing Geography of Niger (section)

==Geography==
Niger, with a land area of 1.267 million km<sup>2</sup>, is a land locked country which is bounded with a land boundary of 5,834&nbsp;km by seven countries: [[Algeria]] (951&nbsp;km), [[Benin]] (277&nbsp;km), [[Burkina Faso]] (622&nbsp;km), [[Chad]] (1,196&nbsp;km), [[Libya]] (342&nbsp;km), [[Mali]] 838&nbsp;km, and [[Nigeria]] (1,608)&nbsp;km.<ref name="The World Factbook"/>

===Regions===
{{main|Regions of Niger}}
[[Niger]] is divided into 7 Regions (French: ''régions;'' singular{{spaced ndash}}''région)''. Each department's capital is the same as its name.

{{stack|{{Regions of Niger Image Map}}}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-bgcolor=#ACE1AF
!Region
!Area <br> (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref>[http://www.geohive.com/cntry/niger.aspx Niger at GeoHive] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420070414/http://www.geohive.com/cntry/niger.aspx |date=20 April 2015 }}</ref>
!Population <br> (2012 census)
|-
|[[Agadez Region|Agadez]]
|667,799
|487,620
|-
|[[Diffa Region|Diffa]]
|156,906
|593,821
|-
|[[Dosso Region|Dosso]]
|33,844
|2,037,713
|-
|[[Maradi Region|Maradi]]
|41,796
|3,402,094
|-
|[[Niamey]]
|402
|1,026,848
|-
|[[Tahoua Region|Tahoua]]
|113,371
|3,328,365
|-
|[[Tillabéri Region|Tillabéri]]
|97,251
|2,722,842
|-
|[[Zinder Region|Zinder]]
|155,778
|3,539,764
|}
*The national capital, [[Niamey]], comprises a [[Capital districts and territories|capital district]].

===Departments===
{{main|Departments of Niger}}
[[Image:Niger arrondissements.png|thumb|right|The pre-2011 36 [[Departments of Niger]]. A further 27 were then carved out of existing divisions.]]
The Regions of Niger are subdivided into 63 [[Department (country subdivision)|Departments]].

===Communes===
{{main|Communes of Niger}}
The 63 Departments are broken down into Communes. As of 2006 there were 265 communes, including ''communes urbaines'' (Urban Communes: centred in or as subdivisions of cities of over 10000), ''communes rurales'' (Rural Communes) centred in cities of under 10,000 and/or sparsely populated areas, and a variety of traditional (clan or tribal) bodies amongst semi-nomadic populations.

<gallery caption="" widths="225px" heights="160px">
File:Niger communes.png|[[Communes of Niger]]
</gallery>

===Cities===
{{main|List of cities in Niger|Niger#Largest cities and towns}}

<gallery caption="" widths="220px" heights="150px">
Image:NigerOMC.png|Niger's cities, main towns and other centres
File:1997 277-16A Agadez hotel.jpg|[[Agadez]] is the largest city in central Niger, with a population of 88,569 (2005 census)
File:Niamey night.jpg|[[Niamey]], the Capital of [[Niger]]
</gallery>

===Roadways===
{{main|Transport in Niger}}

<gallery caption="" widths="220px" heights="150px">
File:SNTVbus-Ouagadougou-Niamey.jpg|A state-run [[Sociéte Nigerienne de Transports de Voyageurs|SNTV]] coach running between [[Ouagadougou]] (Burkina Faso) and [[Niamey]], Niger
File:Blvd_Mali_Bero_from_grand_mosquee_niamey.jpg|Truck and car traffic along Boulevard Mali Bero, [[Niamey]], Niger
</gallery>