| Dosso | |
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| Officials at the opening of the Regional Maternity hospital, 2008. | |
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Dosso
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Niger |
| Region | Dosso Region |
| Urban Commune | Dosso |
| Elevation | 227 m (748 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 43,561 |
| [1] | |
Dosso is a town in the south-west corner of Niger. It lies 130–140 km[2][3] south-east of the capital Niamey at the junction of the main routes to Zinder and Benin. The seventh most populous town in Niger and the largest in Dosso Region, it had an official population during the 2001 census of 43,561.[4] It is the capital of its region—which covers five departments in the southwestern corner of the nation, as well as of its own department: Dosso Department. The city itself lies at the center of its own Urban Commune.[5]
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Attractions in the town include the Djermakoy's palace and museum, nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006.[6]
Dosso would be the terminus of a proposed railway from Parakou in Benin.[7]
Dosso is the seat of the Dosso kingdom, a Djerma chieftaincy which rose to dominate the entire Djerma region in the immediate pre-colonial period. The traditional ruler is styled Djermakoy or Zarmakoy of Dosso, an autochthonous title meaning literally "Djermas' owner": Djerma / Zarma being the name of the predominant ethnic group throughout southwest Niger.