From: The CIA'sTHE WORLD FACTBOOK 1996
[Factbook 1996 Home]
[Gov Docs Home]
[Libraries Home]
[UM-St. Louis Home]
Map
Location: 10 00 N, 8 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
|| View GIF from CIA (27 KB) || Download TIFF from CIA (388 KB) || Download PDF from CIA (41 KB) ||
Flag
Description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
½" Thumbnails
View GIF from CIA (1 KB) || Download TIFF from CIA (8 KB)
3" Full Size
View GIF from CIA (3 KB) || Download TIFF from CIA (485 KB)
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 area:
923,770 sq km
land area:
910,770 sq km
comparative area:
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:
30 nm
International disputes:
demarcation of international boundaries in vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries in the vicinity of the Bakasi Peninsula has been referred to the ICJ
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
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas
Land use:
arable land:
31%
permanent crops:
3%
meadows and pastures:
23%
forest and woodland:
15%
other:
28%
Irrigated land:
8,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification; recent droughts in north severely affecting marginal agricultural activities
natural hazards:
periodic droughts
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
People
Population:
103,912,489 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
45% (male 23,455,266; female 23,245,099)
15-64 years:
52% (male 27,645,106; female 26,553,135)
65 years and over:
3% (male 1,522,862; female 1,491,021) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.05% (1996 est.)
Birth rate:
42.89 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate:
12.71 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 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:
1.02 male(s)/female
all ages:
1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
72.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
54.34 years
male:
53.06 years
female:
55.65 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Nigerian(s)
adjective:
Nigerian
Ethnic divisions:
non-Africans 27,000
north:
Hausa and Fulani
note:
Hausa and Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibos together make up 65% of population
southwest:
Yoruba
southeast:
Ibos
Religions:
Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Languages:
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population:
57.1%
male:
67.3%
female:
47.3%
Government
Name of country:
conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form:
Nigeria
Data code:
NI
Type of government:
military government; Nigeria has been ruled by one military regime after another since 31 December 1983; on 1 October 1995, the present military government announced it will turn power over to democratically elected civilian authorities in October 1998
Capital:
Abuja
note:
on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially moved from Lagos to Abuja; many government offices remain in Lagos pending completion of facilities in Abuja
Administrative divisions:
30 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe; note - some new administrative units may have been created
Independence:
1 October 1960 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 October (1960)
Constitution:
1979 constitution still in force; plan for 1989 constitution to take effect in 1993 was not implemented
Legal system:
based on English common law, Islamic law, and tribal law
Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces and Defense Minister Gen. Sani ABACHA (since 17 November 1993); Vice Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council Oladipo DIYA (since 17 November 1993)
cabinet:
Federal Executive Council
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly
Senate:
suspended after military takeover of 17 November 1993
House of Representatives:
suspended after military takeover of 17 November 1993
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court, judges appointed by the Armed Forces Ruling Council; Federal Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee
Political parties and leaders:
note:
political party system suspended after the military takeover of 17 November 1993; the military regime has made successive promises to allow political parties to register at various times in 1996
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, C (suspended), CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OPEC, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Zubair Mahmud KAZAURE
chancery:
1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
[1] (202) 986-8400
consulate(s) general:
New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Walter C. CARRINGTON
embassy:
2 Eleke Crescent, Lagos
mailing address:
P. O. Box 554, Lagos
telephone:
[234] (1) 261-0097
FAX:
[234] (1) 261-0257
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
Economy
Economic overview:
The oil-rich Nigerian economy continues to be hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management. Nigeria's unpopular military rulers failed to make significant progress in diversifying the economy away from overdependence on the capital intensive oil sector which provides almost all foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues. Regime officials also appear divided on how to redress fundamental economic imbalances that result in troublesome inflation, the steady depreciation of the naira, and the discouragement of investors. The government's domestic and international arrears continue to limit economic growth and prevent an agreement with the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief. 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.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $135.9 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate:
2.6% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita:
$1,300 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:
38%
industry:
22%
services:
40% (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
57% (1994 est.)
Labor force:
42.844 million
by occupation:
agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%
Unemployment rate:
28% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$2.7 billion
expenditures:
$6.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1994 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:
NA%
Electricity:
capacity:
4,570,000 kW
production:
11.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
109 kWh (1993)
Agriculture:
cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forest resources extensively exploited
Illicit drugs:
passenger and cargo air hub for West Africa; facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit route for cocaine from South America intended for West European, East Asian, and North American markets
Exports:
$9.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
oil 98%, cocoa, rubber
partners:
US 52%, EC 34%
Imports:
$7.5 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and animals
partners:
EC 50%, US 13%, Japan 7%
External debt:
$32.5 billion (1993)
Economic aid:
recipient:
ODA, $NA
Currency:
1 naira (N) = 100 kobo
Exchange rates:
naira (N) per US$1 - 21.886 (January 1996), 21.895 (1995), 21.996 (1994), 22.065 (1993), 17.298 (1992), 9.909 (1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railways:
total:
3,557 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
standard gauge:
52 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways:
total:
112,140 km
paved:
31,500 km
unpaved:
80,640 km (1991 est.)
Waterways:
8,575 km consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks
Pipelines:
crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km
Ports:
Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri
Merchant marine:
total:
33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 387,552 GRT/636,578 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 1, cargo 16, chemical tanker 3, oil tanker 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total:
66
with paved runways over 3 047 m:
6
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m:
10
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:
10
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m:
8
with paved runways under 914 m:
18
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m:
1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:
1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m:
12 (1995 est.)
Heliports:
1 (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones:
492,204 (1990 est.)
Telephone system:
average system limited by poor maintenance; major expansion in progress
domestic:
microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and 20 domestic satellite earth stations carry intercity traffic
international:
satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 1 coaxial submarine cable
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 35, FM 17, shortwave 0
Radios:
20 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations:
28
Televisions:
3.8 million (1992 est.)
Defense
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49:
23,739,192
males fit for military service:
13,587,780
males reach military age (18) annually:
1,065,410 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $172 million, about 1% of GDP (1992)
Original publicaton at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm
(June 17, 1997).
