Ouallam | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Ouallam | |
| Country |  Niger |
| Region | Tillabéri Region |
| Department | Ouallam |
| Area | |
• Commune | 648 sq mi (1,679 km2) |
| Population (2012 census) | |
• Commune | 68,191 |
| • Density | 105.2/sq mi (40.61/km2) |
| • Urban | 10,594 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Ouallam is a town around 90 km north ofNiamey in southwesternNiger. It is the capital ofOuallam Department, one of four departments in theTillabéri Region.
In 2013 it had a population of 68,191.[1]
Historically centered in the lands of theDjerma people, Ouallam has important minorities of rural and urbanTuareg andFula peoples. It is the main town of the rockySahel highlands called theZarmaganda plateau, and is one of the traditional homes of the Djerma people and one of the places in which they coalesced as an ethnicity in the 15th and 16th centuries. The area had been along an important trade route to theAïr Mountains, used by theSonghay Empire, and was later controlled by a series of Tuareg confederations.
Ouallam, on a main road toNiamey, is situated in an agricultural region which, although drier than areas further south and west, is a center for livestock (cattle—both sedentary and semi-nomadic, goats), as well as grain agriculture (millet and sorghum). A market center, the town is also home to an agricultural research center of the INRAN (Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques du Niger—the National Institute of Agricultural Research, Niger.)[2][3]
In late 2008, the nearby village ofSiwili was the scene of intercommunal violence, purportedly over accusations of theft of domestic animals.[4]
14°19′03″N2°05′54″E / 14.317615°N 2.098389°E /14.317615; 2.098389
