Nigeria

Internet country code

.ng

Internet hosts

1,549 (2006)

Internet users

5 million (2005)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001)

Telephone system

general assessment: expansion and modernization of the fixed-line telephone network has been slow due to faltering efforts at privatization domestic: the addition of a second fixed-line provider in 2002 resulted in faster growth in this service; wireless telephony has grown rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network; four wireless (GSM) service providers operate nationally; the combined growth resulted in a sharp increase in teledensity reported to be over 18% in March 2006 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

Telephones - main lines in use

1,223,300 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular

21,571,131 (2006)

Television broadcast stations

3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

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

Currency (code)

naira (NGN)

Current account balance

$5.597 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external

$32.45 billion (2005 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

50.6 (1996-97)

Economic aid - recipient

IMF, $250 million (1998)

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.

Electricity - consumption

14.46 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports

40 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - production

15.59 billion kWh (2003)

Exchange rates

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

Exports

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

Exports - commodities

petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber

Exports - partners

US 49.7%, Brazil 10.4%, Spain 7.6% (2005)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$77.33 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$175.5 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 26.9% industry: 48.7% services: 24.4% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$1,400 (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6.9% (2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97)

Imports

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

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

China 10.4%, US 7.3%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 6%, France 5.9%, Germany 4.2% (2005)

Industrial production growth rate

3.8% (2005 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, small commercial ship construction and repair

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

13.5% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

21.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

Labor force

57.21 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

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

Natural gas - consumption

7.41 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports

7.83 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - production

19.2 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

4.502 trillion cu m (2005)

Oil - consumption

310,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports

NA bbl/day

Oil - imports

NA bbl/day

Oil - production

2.451 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

36 billion bbl (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line

60% (2000 est.)

Public debt

11% of GDP (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$28.28 billion (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate

2.9% (2005 est.)

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

Climate

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

Coastline

853 km

Elevation extremes

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

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

Geographic coordinates

10 00 N, 8 00 E

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

Irrigated land

2,820 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

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

Land use

arable land: 33.02% permanent crops: 3.14% other: 63.84% (2005)

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

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

Natural hazards

periodic droughts; flooding

Natural resources

natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land

Terrain

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

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

Capital

name: Abuja geographic coordinates: 9 12 N, 7 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Constitution

new constitution adopted May 1999

Country name

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

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

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

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 a four-year term (eligible for a second term); 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%

Flag description

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

Government type

federal republic

Independence

1 October 1960 (from UK)

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

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)

Legal system

based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

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

National holiday

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

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

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 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.

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 branches

Nigerian Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, Niger Air Force (2006)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

0.8% (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service (2006)

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.)

Birth rate

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

Death rate

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

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%

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

5.4% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

310,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

3.6 million (2003 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.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 47.08 years male: 46.52 years female: 47.66 years (2006 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (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)

Median age

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

Nationality

noun: Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian

Net migration rate

0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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.)

Population growth rate

2.38% (2006 est.)

Religions

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

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.)

Total fertility rate

5.49 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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; following the UN-brokered Greentree Agreement of 12 June 2006, Nigeria, in completion of the 2002 ICJ decision on the Cameroon-Nigerian land boundary, handed sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon on 14 August; all Nigerian military forces have reportedly withdrawn from the region but Nigeria will continue to maintain a police and administrative presence in the southeastern "transition zone" for a period of up to two years; Nigeria pledges to provide for the resettlement of those Bakassi residents who wish to remain Nigerian citizens; 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; 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

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; 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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs: 200,000 - 250,000 (communal violence between Christians and Muslims since President OBASANJO's election in 1999) (2005)

Airports

69 (2006)

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 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 18 (2006)

Heliports

1 (2006)

Merchant marine

total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 277,709 GRT/475,414 DWT by type: cargo 6, chemical tanker 5, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 36, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Singapore 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 28 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 11, Cambodia 2, Comoros 2, Panama 7, Poland 1, Seychelles 1, unknown 2) (2006)

Pipelines

condensate 126 km; gas 2,812 km; liquid petroleum gas 125 km; oil 4,278 km; refined products 3,517 km (2006)

Ports and terminals

Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt

Railways

total: 3,505 km narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)

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)