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In general, information available as of 1 January 2003 was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2003. This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003
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| Introduction | Nigeria | Top of Page
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. Despite some irregularities the April 2003 elections marked the first civilian transfer of power in Nigeria's history.
| Geography | Nigeria | Top of Page
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: 30.96% permanent crops: 2.79% other: 66.25% (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 | Top of Page
Population: | 133,881,703 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 2003 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 43.6% (male 29,322,774; female 28,990,702) 15-64 years: 53.6% (male 36,513,700; female 35,254,333) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 1,890,043; female 1,910,151) (2003 est.)
Median age: | total: 18 years male: 18.1 years female: 17.9 years (2002)
Population growth rate: | 2.53% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: | 38.75 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 71.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 74.44 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 51.01 years male: 50.89 years female: 51.14 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 5.4 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 5.8% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 3.5 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 170,000 (2001 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: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (2003 est.)
| Government | Nigeria | Top of Page
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: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms; election last held 19 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 61.9%, Muhammadu BUHARI (ANPP) 31.2%, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu OJUKWU (APGA) 3.3%, other 3.6%
Legislative branch: | bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (107 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 (346 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); House of Representatives - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.6%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 73, ANPP 28, AD 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 9.3%, other 8.8%; seats by party - PDP 213, ANPP 95, AD 31, other 7; note - two constituencies are not reported
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: | Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Don ETIEBET]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Chekwas OKORIE]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Saleh JAMBO]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC [Adams OSHIOMOLE]
International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Jibril Muhammad AMINU consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
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 | Top of Page
Economy - overview: | The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial 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 apparently received much less multilateral assistance than expected in 2002. Nonetheless, increases in foreign oil investment and oil production kept growth at 3% in 2002. The government lacks the strength to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as modernization of 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. When the uncertainties in the global economy are added in, estimates of Nigeria's prospects for 2003 must have a wide margin of error.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $112.5 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 3.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $900 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 45% industry: 20% services: 35% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 60% (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): | 14.2% (2002 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: | 0.4% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production: | 15.67 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 61.9% hydro: 38.1% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 14.55 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 20 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 2.256 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 275,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: | 27 billion bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production: | 15.68 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 7.85 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 7.83 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 4.007 trillion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products: | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish
Exports: | $17.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber
Exports - partners: | US 32.3%, Brazil 8.3%, Spain 7.2%, Indonesia 5.9%, France 5.6%, India 4.6% (2002)
Imports: | $13.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals
Imports - partners: | UK 9.6%, US 9.4%, China 9.3%, France 8.7%, Germany 6.8%, South Korea 6.1%, Netherlands 5.2%, Italy 4.7% (2002)
Debt - external: | $29.7 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | ODA $250 million (1998)
Currency: | naira (NGN)
Currency code: | NGN
Exchange rates: | nairas per US dollar - NA (2002), 111.23 (2001), 101.7 (2000), 92.34 (1999), 21.89 (1998)
Fiscal year: | calendar year
| Communications | Nigeria | Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use: | 500,000 (2000 est.)
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)
Television broadcast stations: | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002)
Internet country code: | .ng
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 11 (2000)
Internet users: | 100,000 (2000)
| Transportation | Nigeria | Top of Page
Railways: | total: 3,557 km narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge (2002)
Highways: | total: 194,394 km paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 134,326 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: | 8,575 km note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks
Pipelines: | condensate 105 km; gas 1,660 km; oil 3,634 km (2003)
Ports and harbors: | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri
Merchant marine: | total: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 327,689 GRT/607,560 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, US 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical tanker 5, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1
Airports: | 70 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 36 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 3 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 18 (2002)
Heliports: | 1 (2002)
| Military | Nigeria | Top of Page
Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 31,790,482 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 18,259,696 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 1,418,099 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $417.9 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1% (FY02)
| Transnational Issues | Nigeria | Top of Page
Disputes - international: | ICJ ruled in 2002 on the Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary by awarding the potentially petroleum-rich Bakassi Peninsula and offshore region to Cameroon; Nigeria rejected the cession of the peninsula but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to peaceably resolve the dispute and commence with demarcation in other less-contested sections of the boundary; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Benin; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias; Nigeria agreed to ratify the treaty and relinquish sovereignty of disputed lands to Cameroon by December 2003
Illicit drugs: | a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity, along with unwillingness of the government to address the deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering regime make money laundering a major problem
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003