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NIGER
Land area: 489,072 sq mi (1,266,699 sq km); total area: 489,189 sq mi (1,267,000 sq km)
Population (2009 est.): 15,306,252 (growth rate: 3.6%); birth rate: 51.6/1000; infant mortality rate: 116.6/1000; life expectancy: 52.6; density per sq km: 10
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Niamey, 748,600
Other large cities: Zinder, 202,300; Maradi, 189,000
Monetary unit: CFA Franc
Niger, in West Africa's Sahara region, is four-fifths the size of Alaska. It is surrounded by Mali, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso. The Niger River in the southwest flows through the country's only fertile area. Elsewhere the land is semiarid.
Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Ethnicity/race: Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200 French expatriates
Religions: Islam 80%, indigenous beliefs and Christian 20%
National Holiday: Republic Day, December 18
Literacy rate: 28.7% (2005 est.)
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gay and religion together at last
