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| Background: | British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country’s history. |
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| Geography |
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| 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
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 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: | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| 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, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land |
| Land use: | arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14%
other: 63.84% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 2,820 sq km (2003) |
| Total renewable water resources: | 286.2 cu km (2003) |
| Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 8.01 cu km/yr (21%/10%/69%)
per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000) |
| 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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 |
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| People |
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| Population: | 135,031,164
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 2007 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 42.2% (male 28,726,380/female 28,301,729)
15-64 years: 54.7% (male 37,543,678/female 36,277,038)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,987,521/female 2,194,818) (2007 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 18.7 years
male: 18.8 years
female: 18.6 years (2007 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 2.379% (2007 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 40.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death rate: | 16.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.015 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.906 male(s)/female
total population: 1.022 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 95.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 102.44 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 88.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 47.44 years
male: 46.83 years
female: 48.07 years (2007 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 5.45 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS—adult prevalence rate: | 5.4% (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS—people living with HIV/AIDS: | 3.6 million (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS—deaths: | 310,000 (2003 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria and yellow fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: one of the most highly endemic areas for Lassa fever
water contact disease: leptospirosis and shistosomiasis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008) |
| Nationality: | noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
| Ethnic groups: | Nigeria, 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: 68%
male: 75.7%
female: 60.6% (2003 est.) |
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| Government |
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| Country name: | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
| Government type: | federal republic |
| Capital: | name: Abuja
geographic coordinates: 9 12 N, 7 11 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions: | 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory*, 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 5 May 1999; effective 29 May 1999 |
| Legal system: | based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Umaru Musa YAR’ADUA (since 29 May 2007); note – the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umaru Musa YAR’ADUA (since 29 May 2007)
cabinet: Federal Executive Council
elections: president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011)
election results: Umaru Musa YAR’ADUA elected president; percent of vote – official results not yet posted as of September 2007 |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats, 3 from each state plus 1 from Abuja; 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 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011); House of Representatives – last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011)
election results: Senate – percent of vote by party – official results not yet posted as of May 2007; House of Representatives – percent of vote by party – official results not yet posted as of May 2007 |
| 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: | Accord Party [Ikra Aliyu BILBIS]; Action Congress or AC [Hassan ZUMI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Mojisoluwa AKINFENWA]; All Nigeria Peoples’ Party or ANPP [Edwin UME-EZEOKE]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]; Democratic People’s Party or DPP [Jeremiah USENI]; Fresh Democratic Party [Chris OKOTIE]; Labor Party [Dan NWANYANWU]; Movement for the Restoration and Defense of Democracy or MRDD [Mohammed Gambo JIMETA]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [vacant]; Peoples Progressive Alliance [Clement EBRI]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Mallam Selah JAMBO] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Oluwole ROTIMI
chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400
FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Robin SANDERS
embassy: 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Abuja
mailing address: P. O. Box 5760, Garki, Abuja
telephone: [234] (9) 461-4000
FAX: [234] (9) 461-4036/4273 |
| Flag description: | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
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| Economy |
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| Economy—overview: | Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria’s former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 80% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth – Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country – and the country, 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. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In the last year the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country’s four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt – relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments – a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria’s total $37 billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2007, based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices. Newly-elected President YAR’ADUA has pledged to continue the economic reforms of his successor and the proposed budget for 2008 reflects the administrations emphasis on infrastructure improvements. Infrastructure is the main impediment to growth. The government is working toward developing stronger public-private partnerships for electricity and roads. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $294.8 billion (2007 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $126.7 billion (2007 est.) |
| GDP—real growth rate: | 6.1% (2007 est.) |
| GDP—per capita (PPP): | $2,200 (2007 est.) |
| GDP—composition by sector: | agriculture: 17.6%
industry: 53.1%
services: 29.3% (2007 est.) |
| Labor force: | 50.13 million (2007 est.) |
| Labor force—by occupation: | agriculture: 70%
industry: 10%
services: 20% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 60% (2000 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 33.2% (2003) |
| Distribution of family income—Gini index: | 43.7 (2003) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 6.5% (2007 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 24.3% of GDP (2007 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $20.5 billion
expenditures: $21.82 billion (2007 est.) |
| Public debt: | 14.8% of GDP (2007 est.) |
| 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, small commercial ship construction and repair |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 3.1% (2007 est.) |
| Electricity—production: | 22.53 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity—consumption: | 16.88 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity—exports: | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity—imports: | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Oil—production: | 2.63 million bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil—consumption: | 300,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil—exports: | 2.203 million bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil—imports: | 167,900 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil—proved reserves: | 35.88 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural gas—production: | 21.48 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas—consumption: | 9.936 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas—exports: | 11.55 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Natural gas—imports: | 0 cu m (2005) |
| Natural gas—proved reserves: | 5.015 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $14.61 billion (2007 est.) |
| Exports: | $61.81 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
| Exports—commodities: | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
| Exports—partners: | US 48.9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 7.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
| Imports: | $30.35 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.) |
| Imports—commodities: | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
| Imports—partners: | China 10.7%, US 8.3%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.8%, France 5.6%, Brazil 5.1%, Germany 4.6% (2006) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $50.33 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
| Debt—external: | $5.815 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment—at home: | $31.66 billion (2006 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment—abroad: | $12.44 billion (2006 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $32.82 billion (2006) |
| Economic aid—recipient: | $6.437 billion (2005) |
| Currency (code): | naira (NGN) |
| Exchange rates: | nairas per US dollar – 127.46 (2007), 127.38 (2006), 132.59 (2005), 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
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| Communications |
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| Telephones—main lines in use: | 1.688 million (2006) |
| Telephones—mobile cellular: | 32.322 million (2006) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: further expansion and modernization of the fixed-line telephone network is needed
domestic: the addition of a second fixed-line provider in 2002 resulted in faster growth of this service with fixed-line subscribership nearly tripling over the past five years; wireless telephony has grown rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network; multiple service providers operate nationally; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity reached 25 per 100 persons in 2006
international: country code – 234; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations – 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2001) |
| Internet country code: | .ng |
| Internet hosts: | 1,968 (2007) |
| Internet users: | 8 million (2006) |
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| Transportation |
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| Airports: | 70 (2007) |
| Airports—with paved runways: | total: 36
over 3,047 m: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
| Airports—with unpaved runways: | total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
| Heliports: | 2 (2007) |
| Pipelines: | condensate 124 km; gas 3,071 km; liquid petroleum gas 156 km; oil 4,347 km; refined products 3,949 km (2007) |
| Railways: | total: 3,505 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
| Roadways: | total: 194,394 km
paved: 60,068 km
unpaved: 134,326 km (1999) |
| Waterways: | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2007) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 55 ships (1000 GRT or over) 284,400 GRT/483,316 DWT
by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 8, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 37, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 1, Singapore 1, Spain 1)
registered in other countries: 23 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 11, Cambodia 2, Panama 6, Poland 1, Seychelles 1, unknown 2) (2007) |
| Ports and terminals: | Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos |
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| Military |
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| Military branches: | Nigerian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (2007) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2007) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 26,802,678
females age 18-49: 25,668,446 (2005 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 15,052,914
females age 18-49: 13,860,806 (2005 est.) |
| Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males age 18-49: 1,353,180
females age 18-49: 1,329,267 (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures—percent of GDP: | 1.5% (2006) |
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| Transnational Issues |
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| Disputes—international: | Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues; the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementation; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission’s admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 6,051 (Liberia)
IDPs: undetermined (communal violence between Christians and Muslims since President OBASANJO’s election in 1999; displacement is mostly short-term) (2006) |
| Illicit drugs: | a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets; consumer of amphetamines; safe haven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity; Nigeria has improved some anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in June 2006; Nigeria’s anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF |
