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Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Benin and Cameroon
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, Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
Coastline: 853 km
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
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.)
Population: 101,232,251 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (female 22,643,026; male 22,850,322)
15-64 years: 52% (female 25,842,286; male 26,978,906)
65 years and over: 3% (female 1,438,392; male 1,479,319) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.16% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 43.26 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 12.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 72.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.98 years
male: 54.69 years
female: 57.3 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.31 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian
Ethnic divisions:
north: Hausa and Fulani
southwest: Yoruba
southeast: Ibos non-Africans 27,000
note: Hausa and Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibos together make up 65% of population
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 51%
male: 62%
female: 40%
Labor force: 42.844 million
by occupation: agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%
Names:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria
Digraph: NI
Type: military government since 31 December 1983; plans to institute a constitutional conference to prepare for a new transition to civilian rule after plans for a transition in 1993 were negated by General BABANGIDA
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
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
Overview: The oil-rich Nigerian economy continues to be hobbled by political instability and poor macroeconomic management. Nigeria's unpopular military rulers show no sign of wanting to restore democratic civilian rule in the near future and appear divided on how to redress fundamental economic imbalances that cause troublesome inflation and the steady depreciation of the naira. The government's domestic and international arrears continue to limit economic growth - even in the oil sector - and prevent an agreement with the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief. The inefficient (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.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $122.6 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: -0.8% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,250 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 53% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues:$9 billion
expenditures: $10.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports: $11.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: oil 95%, cocoa, rubber
partners: US 54%, EC 23%
Imports: $8.3 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities: machinery and equipment, manufactured goods, food and animals
partners: EC 64%, US 10%, Japan 7%
External debt: $29.5 billion (1992)
Industrial production: growth rate 7.7% (1991); accounts for 43% of GDP, including petroleum
Electricity:
capacity: 4,570,000 kW
production: 11.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 109 kWh (1993)
Industries: crude oil and mining - coal, tin, columbite; primary processing industries - palm oil, peanut, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins; manufacturing industries - textiles, cement, building materials, food products, footwear, chemical, printing, ceramics, steel
Agriculture: accounts for 35% of GDP and half of labor force; cash crops - cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber; food crops - corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forestry resources extensively exploited
Currency: 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo
Fiscal year: calendar year
Railroads:
total: 3,567 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
standard gauge: 62 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways:
total: 107,990 km
paved: mostly bituminous-surface treatment 30,019 km
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 25,411 km; unimproved earth 52,560
km
Inland waterways: 8,575 km consisting of 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: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 404,064 GRT/661,850 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 14, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker
12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Airports:
total: 80
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: 7
with paved runways under 914 m: 25
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21