Nigeria
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Nigeria

Country Profile

Capital City: Abuja (pop. est. 100,000).

Other Cities: Lagos, Nigerias former capital (12 million), Ibadan (5 million), Kano (1 million), Enugu (500,000).

Local Time: UTC +1h

Geography:
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon.
Area: 924 000 sq. km. (356 700 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Ranges from southern coastal swamps to tropical forests, open woodlands, grasslands, and semidesert in the far north. The highest regions are the Jos Plateau 1,200-2,000 meters above sea level and the mountains along the border with Cameroon.
Border countries: Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger

Climate: Temperatures 22-36°C, annual rainfall ranges from 381 cm. along the coast to 64 cm. or less in the far north.

Government:
Type: An elected civilian government took office on May 29, 1999, following 15 years of military rule.
Independence: October 1, 1960.


People:
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Nigerian(s).
Population (est.1999): 120 million.
Ethnic groups (374 pure ethnic stocks): Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba are the largest.
Religions: Muslim, Christian, indigenous African.
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, others.
Literacy: 39%-51%.

Business

Currency: Naira (NGN)

Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc.

Agriculture products: Cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish.

Industries: Crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel.

Exports partners: USA 38.3%, India 9.9%, Brazil 6.8%, Spain 6.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4% (2003)

Imports partners: USA 15.6%, UK 9.6%, Germany 7.3%, China 7.2%, Italy 4.3% (2003)

Internet Links

Official Sites of Nigeria

The Presidency

Welcome to Nigeria

Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Embassy of Nigeria

Map
Map of Nigeria

Introduction

Nigeria

Background:  Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new
constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian
government was completed. The president faces the daunting task of
rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered
through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In
addition, the OBASANJO administration must defuse longstanding ethnic
and religious tensions, if it is to build a sound foundation for economic
growth and political stability.

Geography Nigeria

Location:  Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin
and Cameroon

Geographic coordinates:  10 00 N, 8 00 E

Map references:  Africa

Area:  total: 923,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km land: 910,768 sq km

Area - comparative:  slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:  total: 4,047 km border countries: Benin 773 km,
Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km

Coastline:  853 km

Maritime claims:  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate:  varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north

Terrain:  southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus;
mountains in southeast, plains in north

Elevation extremes:  lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point:
Chappal Waddi 2,419 m

Natural resources:  natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore,
coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land

Land use:  arable land: 31% permanent crops: 3% other: 66% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:  2,330 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:  periodic droughts; flooding

Environment - current issues:  soil degradation; rapid deforestation;
urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water,
air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of
arable land; rapid urbanization

Environment - international agreements:  party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements

Geography - note:  the Niger enters the country in the northwest and
flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta
in the Gulf of Guinea

People Nigeria

Population:  129,934,911 note: estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result
in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population
by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:   43.6% (male 28,503,211; female 28,156,976) 15-64 years:
(male 1,832,682; female 1,844,121) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate:  2.54% (2002 est.)

Birth rate:  39.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate:  14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate:  0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate:  72.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:   50.6 years (2002 est.)  male: Total fertility
rate:  5.49 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:  5.06% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:  2.7 million (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:  250,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality:  noun: Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian

Ethnic groups:  Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is
composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most
populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%,
Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%

Religions:  Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%

Languages:  English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani

Literacy:  definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.)

Government Nigeria

Country name:  conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria

Government type:  republic transitioning from military to civilian rule

Capital:  Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially
transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have
now made the move to Abuja

Administrative divisions:  36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal
Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue,
Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa,
Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger,
Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara

Independence:  1 October 1960 (from UK)

National holiday:  Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)

Constitution:  new constitution adopted May 1999

Legal system:  based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only
in some northern states), and traditional law

Suffrage:  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:  chief of state: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since
29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head
of government head of government: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29
May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government cabinet:  for no more than two four-year terms; election last
held 27 February 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results:
Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO
(PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2%

Legislative branch:  bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109
seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of
Representatives (360 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next
to be held NA March 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24
February 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: Senate -
percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party -
PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69

Judicial branch:  Supreme Court (judges appointed by the President);
Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government
on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee)

Political parties and leaders:  All People's Party or APP [leader
NA]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's
Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH]

Political pressure groups and leaders:  NA

International organization participation:  ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS,
FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM,
OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:  chief of mission: Ambassador
Jibril AMINU consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York FAX: [1] (202)
775-1385 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 chancery: 1333 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20036

Diplomatic representation from the US:  chief of mission: Ambassador
Howard Franklin JETER embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address:
P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205
FAX: [234] (9) 523-0353

Flag description:  three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
white, and green

Economy Nigeria

Economy - overview:  The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by
political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management,
is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian
administration.  Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify
the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil
sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings,
and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural
sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria,
once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.  Following the
signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a
debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from
the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. The agreement was allowed to
expire by the IMF in November 2001, however, and Nigeria appears unlikely
to receive substantial multilateral assistance in 2002. Nonetheless,
increases in foreign oil investment and oil production should push growth
over 4% in 2002.

GDP:  purchasing power parity - $105.9 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:  3.5% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita:  purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:  agriculture: 39% industry: 33% services:
28% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:  45% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:  lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:  50.6 (1996-97)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):  14.9% (2001 est.)

Labor force:  66 million (1999 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:  agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20%
(1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:  28% (1992 est.)

Budget:  revenues: $3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries:  crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton,
rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction
materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing,
ceramics, steel

Industrial production growth rate:  -0.3% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:  15.9 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source:  fossil fuel: 64.15% hydro: 35.85%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:  14.768 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports:  19 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports:  0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products:  cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum,
millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs;
timber; fish

Exports:  $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Exports - commodities:  petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa,
rubber

Exports - partners:  US 46%, Spain 11%, India 6%, France 5%, Brazil (2000)

Imports:  $13.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities:  machinery, chemicals, transport equipment,
manufactured goods, food and live animals

Imports - partners:  UK 11%, US 9%, France 9%, Germany 7%, China (2000)

Debt - external:  $32 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:  ODA $250 million (1998)

Currency:  naira (NGN)

Currency code:  NGN

Exchange rates:  nairas per US dollar - 115 (January 2002), 101.697
(2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997)

Fiscal year:  calendar year

Communications Nigeria

Telephones - main lines in use:  500,000 (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular:  200,000 (2001)

Telephone system:  general assessment: an inadequate system, further
limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start
has been made domestic: intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable,
microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19
earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities
and the Internet are available international: satellite earth stations
- 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine
cable SAFE (South African Far East)

Radio broadcast stations:  AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001)

Radios:  23.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:  3 (the government controls 2 broadcasting
stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002)

Televisions:  6.9 million (1997)

Internet country code:  .ng

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):  11 (2000)

Internet users:  100,000 (1999)

Transportation Nigeria

Railways:   3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge:  the right-of-way have
seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to
restore Nigeria's railways is now underway (2001)

Highways:  total: 193,200 km paved: 59,892 km (including 1,194 km of
expressways) note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled;
because of poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic - in
part the result of the failure of the railroad system - much of the road
system is barely usable (2001) unpaved: 133,308 km

Waterways:  8,575 km note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and
smaller rivers and creeks

Pipelines:  crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural
gas 500 km

Ports and harbors:  Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri

Merchant marine:  total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 331,094
GRT/614,171 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo
1, United States 1 (2002 est.)  ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical
tanker 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1

Airports:  70 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:  total: 35 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047
m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9

Airports - with unpaved runways:  total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to
1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 18 (2001)

Heliports:  1 (2001)

Military Nigeria

Military branches:  Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force

Military manpower - military age:  18 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability:  males age 15-49: 30,808,598 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:  males age 15-49: 17,698,911
(2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:  males: 1,375,112
(2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:  $374.9 million (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:  1% (FY01)

Transnational Issues Nigeria

Disputes - international:  Nigeria disputes several villages with Benin
along the Okpara River, and only 35 km of their common boundary are
demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake
Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing
armed clashes; oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes
between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center
around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on
Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the
Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria requests
and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation
in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents

Illicit drugs:  a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for
European, East Asian, and North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian
narcotraffickers operating worldwide

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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