At the time of independence in 1960 the population had grown to around 30,000. The period from 1970 to 1988 was one in which the economy of Niger boomed, driven by revenue from the uranium mines at Arlit. As a result, the population of Niamey grew from 108,000 to 398,365 inhabitants and the city expanded from  in 1970 to  by 1977, in the process annexing peripheral villages such as Lazaret. Continuing droughts also caused many rural Nigeriens to move to the growing city.