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

People
Nigeria

Population:

146,255,312 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 41.7% (male 31,171,949/female 29,806,204) 15-64 years: 55.3% (male 41,243,003/female 39,611,565) 65 years and over: 3% (male 2,152,318/female 2,270,267) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 18.9 years male: 18.8 years female: 19 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.025% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

37.23 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

16.88 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 95.74 deaths/1,000 live births male: 101.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 89.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 46.53 years male: 45.78 years female: 47.32 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

5.01 children born/woman (2008 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.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 8 years male: 9 years female: 7 years (2004)

Education expenditures:

0.9% of GDP (1991)

Government
Nigeria

Country name:

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

Government type:

federal republic

Capital:

name: Abuja geographic coordinates: 9 05 N, 7 32 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 - Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA 69.8%, Muhammadu BUHARI 18.7%, Atiku ABUBAKAR 7.5%, Orji Uzor KALU 1.7%, other 2.3%

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 - PDP 53.7%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%, other 8.7%; 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%, UNPP 2.8%, NPD 1.9%, APGA 1.6%, PRP 0.8%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6, UNPP 2, APGA 2, NPD 1, PRP 1, vacant 1

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:

Academic Staff Union for Universities or ASUU; Campaign for
Democracy or CD; Civil Liberties Organization or CLO; Committee for
the Defense of Human Rights or CDHR; Constitutional Right Project or
CRP; Human Right Africa; National Association of Democratic Lawyers
or NADL; National Association of Nigerian Students or NANS; Nigerian
Bar Association or NBA; Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC; Nigerian
Medical Association or NMA; the Press; Universal Defenders of
Democracy or UDD

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, MINURCAT,
MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN,
UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, 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: (202) 986-8400 FAX: (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Robin SANDERS embassy: 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central District Area, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 5760, Garki, Abuja telephone: (9) 461-4000 FAX: (9) 461-4036

Flag description:

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

Economy
Nigeria

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 predecessor 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):

$296.1 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$166.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.4% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$2,100 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 17.7% industry: 52.6% services: 29.8% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

50.13 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 70% industry: 10% services: 20% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:

4.9% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

70% (2007 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)

Investment (gross fixed):

23.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $19.43 billion expenditures: $20.36 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Public debt:

14.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

5.4% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

9.5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

16.94% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$21.72 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$19.07 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$16.15 billion (31 December 2007)

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:

3.2% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

22.11 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

15.85 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 61.9% hydro: 38.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

2.352 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

312,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

2.473 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

154,300 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

36.22 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

34.1 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

12.9 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

21.2 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

5.21 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

$2.514 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$61.79 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber

Exports - partners:

US 51.6%, Brazil 8.9%, Spain 7.7% (2007)

Imports:

$38.5 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals

Imports - partners:

China 10.6%, Netherlands 7.9%, US 7.8%, South Korea 6.6%, UK 5.7%,
France 4.3%, Brazil 4.2%, Germany 4.1% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$6.437 billion (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$51.33 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$8.007 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$33.64 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$12.63 billion (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$32.82 billion (2006)

Currency (code):

naira (NGN)

Currency code: