Niger

Exact population: 12,525,094 (July 2006 est.)
Literacy: Total population: 17.6%; male: 25.8%; female: 9.7%
Ethnicities: 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
Land boundaries: Total: 5,697 km; border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km
Terrain: Predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north
Extremes: Lowest point: Niger River 200 m; highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 m
Imports: France 14.4%, US 10.3%, French Polynesia 9.4%, Nigeria 7.8%, Cote d''Ivoire 7.5%, Japan 5.2%, China 5.1%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)
Exports: France 41%, Nigeria 22.4%, Japan 15.3%, Switzerland 6%, Spain 4.1%, Ghana 4% (2004)
Industries: Uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses

Source: CIA World Factbook