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 rebuilding 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. Despite some irregularities, the April 2003 elections marked the first civilian transfer of power in Nigeria's history.

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 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: 31.29%; permanent crops: 2.96%; other: 65.75% (2001)

Irrigated land: 2,330 sq km (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

People

Population: 128,771,988

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 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.3% (male 27,466,766/female 27,045,092); 15-64 years: 54.6% (male 35,770,593/female 34,559,414); 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,874,157/female 2,055,966) (2005 est.)

Median age: total: 18.63 years; male: 18.71 years; female: 18.55 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.37% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 40.65 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 17.18 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 98.8 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 105.69 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 91.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 46.74 years; male: 46.21 years; female: 47.29 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.53 children born/woman (2005 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 (2004)

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.)

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

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 NA 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 one from Abuja, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (346 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); House of Representatives - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 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)

Economy

Economy - overview: Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from 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. During 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 2004.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $125.7 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.2% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 36.3%; industry: 30.5%; services: 33.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 55.67 million (2004 est.)

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

Unemployment rate: NA

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): 16.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 18% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget: revenues: $11.78 billion; expenditures: $11.47 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt: 20% of GDP (2004 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: 1.8% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: 19.85 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption: 18.43 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports: 30 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production: 2.356 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption: 275,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports: NA

Oil - imports: NA

Oil - proved reserves: 34 billion bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production: 15.68 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 7.85 billion cu m (2001 est.)

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

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 4.007 trillion cu m (2004)

Current account balance: $5.228 billion (2004 est.)

Exports: $33.99 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners: US 48.2%, India 8.1%, Spain 7.4%, Brazil 5.5%, Japan 4.1% (2004)

Imports: $17.14 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners: US 9.1%, China 8.8%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 6.3%, France 6.1%, Germany 5.7%, Italy 4.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $14.71 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external: $30.55 billion (2004 est.)

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

Currency (code): naira (NGN)

Exchange rates: nairas per US dollar - 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58 (2002), 111.23 (2001), 101.7 (2000)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 853,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,149,500 (2003)

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: 1,142 (2004)

Internet users: 750,000 (2003)