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[[Image:nigerflag.gif|thumb|right|250px|The Nigerien flag.]]

[[Image:nigerflag.gif|thumb|right|250px|The Nigerien flag.]]

'''Niger''' is a landlocked country in western Africa.  It gained its independence from [[France]] in 1960, but it still has close ties with bilateral agreements for economic and cultural issues. It has an area of 1,266,902 square kilometers and a population of nearly 13 million people.  The Average life expectancy is only 44 years on average.   

'''Niger''' is a landlocked country in western Africa.  It gained its independence from [[France]] in 1960, but it still has close ties with its former colonial ruler through bilateral agreements for economic and cultural issues. Niger was under single party military rule until 1991, and has had 2 coups since then, but has been functioning as a [[Democracy]] since the end of 1999.<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ng.html</ref>

 

With a size of 1,266,902 square kilometers (only 300 of which are water), Niger is a little less than twice the size of Texas and has a population of nearly 13 million people.  The Average life expectancy is only 44 years on average.   

The capital of Niger is Niamey.

The capital of Niger is Niamey.