City Africa
Niamey
Niamey is the capital of Niger, in West Africa. It sits on both banks of the Niger River.
Niamey is the capital of Niger and its biggest city, on the Niger River. At the 2012 census 978,029 people lived in the city, and an official projection gave the Niamey capital district 1,324,700 people in 2020. It was a small river stop in 1905, with about 1,800 people.
Niamey grew from about 1,800 people in 1905 to 978,029 at the 2012 census; Niger's statistics institute projected 1,324,700 for the capital district in 2020. Made an administrative center by the French in 1903 and the governor's seat from 1926, it grew fastest after independence, helped by the uranium boom of 1976 to 1983.
Photo: Roland Huziaker, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Niamey
Niamey is the capital city of Niger. The Niger River flows through it.
About a million people live there.
Niamey is the capital of Niger, a country in West Africa, and its biggest city. Niger's census of 10 December 2012 counted 978,029 people in the city. The Niamey capital district, which includes the city, had an official projection of 1,324,700 people for 1 July 2020.
Since the 1980s the city has also spread onto the plains of the right bank of the Niger River, Universalis says.
Niger's Institut National de la Statistique (via City Population): the city of Niamey had 233,414 people in 1977, 391,876 in 1988, 690,286 in 2001 and 978,029 at the 2012 census (final), far ahead of Maradi (267,249). The Niamey capital district (670 km²) had 1,026,848 in 2012 and an official projection of 1,324,700 for 1 July 2020.
Universalis (Emmanuel Grégoire): Niamey is both a city of civil servants and Niger's economic capital, home to the head offices of national companies and some industries.
- Country
- Niger (capital)
- People in the city (census, 10 December 2012)
- 978,029
- Niamey capital district (official projection, 1 July 2020)
- 1,324,700
- River
- the Niger, with the city on both banks
The view from the Grand Mosque
Look down at the wide road and the cars! Sacks are piled up at the market stalls.
Behind them is an outdoor stage, and many green trees.
This view was taken from the Grand Mosque of Niamey on 26 March 2006. Across a wide road are market stalls with piles of sacks and straw shelters, and an outdoor amphitheater with tall towers of stage lights.
Beyond it, low reddish-brown buildings hide among green trees, and the air is hazy far away. Cars wait at a crossroads, and people walk along the sandy edges of the road.
Commons: 'View from the Grande Mosque in Niamey. Across the road are market stalls, an outdoor amphitheatre (complete with lighting rigs), and a view across the city', 26 March 2006, by the Flickr photographer rolandh, CC BY-SA 2.0, license confirmed by FlickreviewR on 23 January 2009.
Wikidata places the Niamey Grand Mosque about 1.8 km east-northeast of the Niamey Grand Market, the commercial heart of the city center that Universalis describes.
- Photo
- the view from the Grand Mosque, 26 March 2006
- Grand Mosque
- about 1.8 km east-northeast of the Grand Market
- In the photo
- market stalls, an outdoor amphitheater, the city beyond
From river village to capital
Long ago, Niamey was a small village by the river. People fished and farmed there.
Today it is a big capital city.
No one is sure how Niamey began, Universalis says: some say it was a Songhai fishing village, others a village of Zarma, Mauri and Fulani farmers. It was a stop on the river near a big market, so the French made it an administrative center in 1903. In 1905 it had about 1,800 people.
Niamey became the seat of the colony's governor in 1926. It grew slowly at first, to 7,500 people in 1945, then faster after independence: 30,000 in 1960 and 70,000 in 1970.
Universalis: the origin is uncertain (a Songhai fishing village, or a village of Zarma, Mauri and Fulani farmers). Its position as a river stage near a large market led the French to make it an administrative center in 1903 (1,800 people in 1905) and the territory's seat of government until 1 January 1911, when Zinder, more central, was preferred. A decree of 28 December 1926 made Niamey the governor's seat again.
Growth was slow (7,500 in 1945) until independence (30,000 in 1960, 70,000 in 1970), then quickened with the uranium boom of 1976 to 1983, which paid for modern infrastructure, and as farmers and herders arrived after the droughts of 1973 to 1974 and 1984 to 1985 (400,000 people in 1986).
- Administrative center
- 1903 (French)
- People in 1945
- 7,500
- People in 1960
- 30,000
Bridges, roads and the airport
A long bridge crosses the Niger River in Niamey. Roads go out from the city to other countries.
Niamey has grown on both banks of the Niger River, and Universalis describes the Kennedy Bridge joining the two parts. Wikidata dates the bridge to 19 December 1970; it lies about 2 kilometers southwest of the Grand Market.
Niamey is a meeting point of roads: dirt tracks link it to the farming villages around it, and paved roads lead to the rest of Niger and to Burkina Faso and Mali. The international airport lies about 7 kilometers southeast of the Grand Market.
Universalis: since the 1980s the city has spread onto the right bank of the Niger (the plains of the Gaweye and Karadjé quarters), and the two parts are joined by the Kennedy Bridge; Niamey is a communications hub, with a network of tracks to its rural hinterland, to which it stays closely tied, and paved roads to the rest of the country, Burkina Faso and Mali.
Wikidata: Kennedy Bridge (inception 1970-12-19) 1.95 km SW of the Niamey Grand Market; the international airport 6.91 km SE.
- Kennedy Bridge
- dated 19 December 1970 (Wikidata); joins the two banks
- Paved roads
- to the rest of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali
- International airport
- about 7 km southeast of the Grand Market
Hot, with a short rainy season
Niamey is hot. April and May are the hottest months.
Most of the rain falls in summer. In winter it is dry for months.
Niamey is hot almost all year. The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Niamey (1961–1990) give April an average high of about 41 °C, the hottest of the year. In January, the coolest lows average about 16 °C.
Adding up the monthly averages gives about 541 millimeters of rain a year. Almost all of it falls from June to September, and August is the wettest month, with about 171 millimeters. From November to February there is almost no rain at all.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Niamey (temperatures and rainfall 1961–1990): average highs from 32.5 °C in January to 40.9 °C in April (40.2 °C in May); average lows from 16.1 °C in January to 27.7 °C in May. Monthly rainfall sums to 540.8 mm, of which June to September give 486.1 mm; August (170.8 mm) is the wettest month, and November to February together average 0.7 mm. The table gives no rain-day counts.
Universalis links the city's fast growth in the 1970s and 1980s partly to droughts that drove farmers and herders from the countryside.
- April, average high (WMO, 1961–1990)
- 40.9 °C
- January, average low (same table)
- 16.1 °C
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 541 mm, mostly June to September
Markets and neighborhoods
Niamey has a big market in the middle of town. Many children and young people live in the city.
Universalis describes Niamey as a city with several centers. Government offices and residential areas stand apart from the city center, which is given over to trade around the Grand Market. Neighborhoods include Boukoki, Talladjé and Lazaret.
People from all of Niger's language groups now live in Niamey, and it is a young city: Universalis reported that 54% of its people were under 20. It also describes a large informal sector of crafts, small workshops, shops and services.
Universalis: from a small town, the urban community of Niamey (set up on 24 November 1988) became a capital with several centers, its administrative part and residential areas distinct from a city center devoted to trade (the Grand Market) and from crowded neighborhoods such as Sabon Gari, Boukoki, Talladjé, Foulankoira and Lazaret. It is home to all of Niger's ethno-linguistic groups; 54% of Niameyans were under twenty, and growth came at about 4.5% a year, from high natural increase and steady migration from the countryside.
A large informal sector (crafts, small industry, trade, services) employs many people.
- City center
- given to trade, around the Grand Market
- Young people
- 54% of people in Niamey under 20 (Universalis)
- Neighborhoods
- including Boukoki, Talladjé, Lazaret, Gaweye and Karadjé
Niamey on the map
Find the Niger River on the globe. Niamey sits on the river, in Niger.
Niamey lies at about 13.5° north, on the Niger River, in West Africa. Measured from the Grand Market, the Grand Mosque is about 1.8 kilometers east-northeast, the Kennedy Bridge about 2 kilometers southwest and the international airport about 7 kilometers southeast.
Roads lead from Niamey to Burkina Faso and Mali.
Niamey lies at about 13.52° N and 2.11° E (Natural Earth point). From the Niamey Grand Market (Wikidata coordinates): Niamey Grand Mosque 1.80 km ENE (the photo's viewpoint), Kennedy Bridge 1.95 km SW, the international airport 6.91 km SE.
Universalis: the older city and the right-bank quarters (Gaweye, Karadjé), on plains, are joined by the Kennedy Bridge.
- Latitude
- about 13.5° north
- Longitude
- about 2.1° east
- Setting
- on both banks of the Niger River
Amazing facts
-
Niamey was once a tiny place with about 1,800 people!
Niamey had about 1,800 people in 1905 and 978,029 at the 2012 census.
Universalis: 1,800 people in 1905, 7,500 in 1945, 30,000 in 1960, 400,000 in 1986; census 2012 (INS via City Population): 978,029.
-
Not long ago, more than half of the people in Niamey were under 20!
Universalis reported that 54% of the people of Niamey were under 20 years old.
Universalis: 54% of Niameyans were under twenty, one reason for growth of about 4.5% a year.
-
In Niamey, almost all the rain falls in summer.
About 486 of Niamey's 541 millimeters of yearly rain fall from June to September, in the WMO's averages.
WMO (1961–1990): June to September give 486.1 of 540.8 mm; November to February together average 0.7 mm.
-
A long bridge in Niamey crosses the Niger River.
The Kennedy Bridge joins the two banks of Niamey across the Niger River; Wikidata dates it to 19 December 1970.
Universalis describes the left-bank city and the right-bank quarters as joined by the Kennedy Bridge; Wikidata gives its inception as 1970-12-19.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government meets
- bank
- the land along each side of a river
- administrative center
- a town where officials run an area
- uranium
- a heavy metal dug from the ground and used as fuel in nuclear power stations
- drought
- a long time with much less rain than usual
- amphitheater
- an open-air place with a stage where people watch shows
Discovery challenge
-
Niamey is the capital of which country?
Niamey is the capital and biggest city of which country?
Niamey is the political and economic capital of which country?
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Chad
Show the answer
Niger
Niger!
Niger.
Niger.
-
Which river flows through Niamey?
On which river does Niamey stand?
The Kennedy Bridge in Niamey crosses which river?
- The Nile
- The Niger
- The Amazon
Show the answer
The Niger
The Niger River!
The Niger River.
The Niger.
-
What is the hottest month in Niamey?
In which month are Niamey's days hottest, at about 41 °C?
Which month has the highest average high (40.9 °C) in the WMO's Niamey table?
- January
- April
- December
Show the answer
April
April!
April.
April (40.9 °C); May follows with 40.2 °C.
-
About how many people lived in Niamey in 1905?
Niamey had about how many people in 1905?
Universalis gives Niamey's population in 1905 as about how many?
- 1,800
- 180,000
- 18
Show the answer
1,800
About 1,800!
About 1,800.
1,800.
-
When does most of Niamey's rain fall?
In which months does almost all of Niamey's rain fall?
Which four months give 486.1 of Niamey's 540.8 mm of yearly rain?
- June to September
- December to March
- It rains the same every month
Show the answer
June to September
June to September!
June to September.
June to September.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Niamey on the Niger River in West Africa.
- Explain how a river stop near a market became a capital city.
- Describe how a city can grow very fast and spread across a river.
- Read a climate table and find the rainy months.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Niamey grew from about 1,800 people to almost a million. What would a city need as it grows that fast?
- Why might a bridge matter so much to a city on both sides of a river?
- Almost all of Niamey's rain falls in four months. How might people plan for the long dry season?
Try at home or in class
- Population line: plot Niamey's 1905, 1945, 1960, 1986 and 2012 numbers on a line graph.
- Rain bars: draw a bar for each month of Niamey's rainfall and color the four wettest months.
- Paper bridge: fold a strip of paper into a zigzag and test how many coins it can hold between two books.
Key vocabulary: capital, bank, administrative center, uranium, drought, amphitheater
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Niger: Regions, Cities and Urban Centers , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Institut National de la Statistique du Niger
- Niamey , Encyclopaedia Universalis (Emmanuel Grégoire)
- Niamey: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (Niger)
- File:Niamey from grand mosque theatre 2006.jpg (Flickr user rolandh, 26 March 2006) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.