Republic of the Congo:

Before the 1997 war, about 9,000 Europeans and other non-Africans lived in Congo, most of whom were French; only a fraction of this number remains. Around 300 American expatriates reside in the Congo.

Please answer a question about this article. If the question is unanswerable, say "unanswerable". Prior to the civil war in '97, how many non-Africans lived in the Republic of the Congo?
about 9,000