Niger population soars by 50 per cent

The population of Niger, one of the world's poorest nations, has ballooned 50 per cent in a dec-ade to 15 million, the national statistical agency INS said yesterday. "This year, the population is estimated at 15,203,822," said INS director Abdoulaye...

The population of Niger, one of the world's poorest nations, has ballooned 50 per cent in a dec-ade to 15 million, the national statistical agency INS said yesterday.

"This year, the population is estimated at 15,203,822," said INS director Abdoulaye Beidou on the heels of a report that put the annual population growth rate at 3.3 per cent.

Ninety-four per cent of the people of Niger - a vast west African nation on the edge of the Sahara desert -are concentrated in a third of the territory, notably in the south and in the west.

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