Zinder Region is one of the seven regions of Niger; the capital of the region is Zinder. The region covers 145,430 km². It is the most populous province of Niger.
History
Numerous Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains, as well as cave paintings, have been found in the Termit Massif.[3]
Zinder was the centre of the Sultanate of Damagaram, a powerful sultanate which dominated much of the surrounding region from the mid-18th century until the French conquest in the 1890s.[4] Zinder was initially the capital of the Niger territory, however this was moved to Niamey in 1926 and thereafter Zinder declined in importance, though it remains an important regional centre.[3]
Geography
The Termit Massif in northern Zinder
Zinder Region is located in the southeast of Niger and covers 145,430 km². It borders Agadez Region to the north, Diffa Region to the east, Nigeria to the south (specifically, the states of Yobe, Jigawa and Katsina), and Maradi Region to the west. The landscape is primarily Sahelian in the south, merging into the Sahara desert in the north of the region. The terrain is predominantly flat, except for the Koutous Hills, which lie north of Kelle, and the Termit Massif in the far north of the region.[3]
Of the 27 administrative stations (postes administratifs) of Niger which were set out in a law dated 1 August 2011 to become departments and for which the appointment of prefects on 29 February 2012 completed the conversion, the following 5 are in Zinder region.[6]
