Nigeria

§1. Nigeria Introduction

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 reforming 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. Although the April 2003 elections were marred by some
  irregularities, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of
  civilian rule since independence.

§2. Nigeria Geography

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 km²
  land: 910,768 km²
  water: 13,000 km²

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:
  2,330 km² (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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
    Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
    Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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

§3. Nigeria People

Population:
  131,859,731
  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 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 42.3% (male 28,089,017/female 27,665,212)
  15-64 years: 54.6% (male 36,644,885/female 35,405,915)
  65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,930,007/female 2,124,695) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 18.7 years
  male: 18.7 years
  female: 18.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  2.38% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  40.43 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  16.94 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 97.14 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 104.05 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 90.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 47.08 years
  male: 46.52 years
  female: 47.66 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  5.49 children born/woman (2006 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
  respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
  aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: one of the most highly endemic
    areas for Lassa fever (2005)

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.)

§4. Nigeria Government

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

Government type:
  federal republic

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

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 May 1999

Legal system:
  based on English common law, Islamic Shariah 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 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 April
    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 (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 12 April 2003 (next to be held in 2007);
    House of Representatives - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held in
    2007)
  election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.7%, ANPP
    27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6; House of
    Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD
    8.8%, other 9.3%; seats by party - PDP 223, ANPP 96, AD 34, other 6; note
    - one seat is vacant

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 [Mojisoluwa AKINFENWA]; All Nigeria Peoples'
  Party or ANPP [Don ETIEBET]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA
  [disputed leadership]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI];
  Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Dr. Ahmadu ALI]; Peoples Redemption Party
  or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal
  MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [disputed leadership]

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, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
  IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC,
  ONUB, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
  UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
  WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Professor George A. OBIOZOR
  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 John CAMPBELL
  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

§5. Nigeria Economy

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 65% 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. GDP rose strongly in 2005, based largely on increased
  oil exports and high global crude prices. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris
  Club approval for a historic debt-relief deal that by March 2006 should
  eliminate $30 billion worth of Nigeria's total $37 billion external debt.
  The deal first requires that Nigeria repay roughly $12 billion in arrears
  to its bilateral creditors. Nigeria would then be allowed to buy back its
  remaining debt stock at a discount. The deal also commits Nigeria to more
  intensified IMF reviews.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $132.9 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $76.46 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  5.6% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $1,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 26.8%
  industry: 48.8%
  services: 24.4% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  57.21 million (2005 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
  2.9% (2005 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):
  15.6% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  23.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $12.86 billion
  expenditures: $13.54 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    est.)

Public debt:
  11.2% of GDP (2005 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:
  2.4% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  15.59 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  14.46 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  40 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  2.451 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  310,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
  36 billion bbl (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  19.2 billion m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  7.41 billion m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  7.83 billion m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  0 m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  4.502 trillion m³ (2005)

Current account balance:
  $9.622 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $52.16 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
  US 47.4%, Brazil 10.7%, Spain 7.1% (2004)

Imports:
  $25.95 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
  China 9.4%, US 8.4%, UK 7.8%, Netherlands 5.9%, France 5.4%, Germany 4.8%,
  Italy 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $30.16 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $37.49 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  IMF, $250 million (1998)

Currency (code):
  naira (NGN)

Exchange rates:
  nairas per US dollar - 132.59 (2005), 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58
  (2002), 111.23 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Nigeria Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  1,027,500 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  9,147,200 (2004)

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: country code - 234; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2
    Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable
    (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

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 hosts:
  1,535 (2005)

Internet users:
  1,769,700 (2005)

§7. Nigeria Transportation

Airports:
  70 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 36
  over 3,047 m: 6
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
  914 to 1,523 m: 6
  under 914 m: 3 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 34
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
  914 to 1,523 m: 13
  under 914 m: 18 (2005)

Heliports:
  1 (2005)

Pipelines:
  condensate 105 km; gas 1,896 km; oil 3,638 km; refined products 3,626 km
  (2004)

Railways:
  total: 3,557 km
  narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
  standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)

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) (2005)

Merchant marine:
  total: 49 ships (1000 GRT or over) 263,452 GRT/452,012 DWT
  by type: barge carrier 1, cargo 5, chemical tanker 7, liquefied gas 1,
    passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 33, specialized tanker 1
  foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Singapore 1)
  registered in other countries: 26 (The Bahamas 2, Bermuda 10, Cambodia 2,
    Comoros 2, Panama 6, Seychelles 1, unknown 3) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt

§8. Nigeria Military

Military branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force

Military service age and obligation:
  18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 26,804,314 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 15,053,936 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 1,353,161 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $737.6 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  0.8% (2005 est.)

§9. Nigeria Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary
  but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences
  bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections
  of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; Nigeria initially
  rejected cession of the Bakassi Peninsula, then agreed, but has yet to
  withdraw its forces while much of the indigenous population opposes
  cession; 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, the unresolved Bakasi allocation,
  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; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved
  disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with
  Benin on the Okpara River; 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:
  IDPs: 200,000 - 250,000 (communal violence between Christians and Muslims
    since President OBASANJO's election in 1999) (2005)

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; remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative
  Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address
  deficiencies in money-laundering control regime


<Factbook 2006>
