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Not until 1993, 33 years after independence from France, did Niger hold its first free and open elections. A 1995 peace accord ended a five-year Tuareg insurgency in the north. Coups in 1996 and 1999 were followed by the creation of a National Reconciliation Council that effected a transition to civilian rule by December 1999. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa.
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Country
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Surface Area: 1.267 million square km
Population: 11,360,538 (July 2004 est.)
Located in: Western Africa
Capital City: Niamey
Head of State: Mamadou TANDJA
Prime Minister: Hama AMADOU
Independent since: 3 August 1958 (from France)
Currency: Franc (XOF)
Flag (image): 
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