Niger

I have managed to add some new countries to my collection lately thanks to Maick and his friends across the globe. One of these countries is Niger, a lanclocked African country 80% covered by Sahara desert. The country was named after the Niger River, one of vital elements of country's agriculture. Niger is one of the developing countries whcih faces many problems - poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, and poor health care. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification as well, It's also one of the countries with lowest United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI). 

Although French, that came to Niger in the colonial period, is the official language, there are eight indigenous national languages spoken by country's population of more than 17 million. Niamey is both capital and the largest city of Niger.