1984 Edition

Airfields

66 total, 60 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 17 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Area

300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March

Branches

Army, Air Force, National Security Forces

Supreme Military Council, National Council of State, and Federal Executive Council (cabinet)

Capital

Lagos

Civil air

3 major transport aircraft

Coastline

853 km People

Elections

last national elections under civilian rule held August-September 1983 Political parties and leaders: all Political parties banned after 31 December 1983; former parties — National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Shehu Shagari; Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Obafemi Awolowo; Nigerian People's Party (NPP), Nnamdi Azikiwe; Great Nigerian People's Party (GNPP), Waziri Ibrahim; People's Redemption Party (PRP), Hassan Yusuf ; Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), Tunji Braithwaite

Ethnic divisions

of the more than 250 tribal groups, the Hausa and Fulani of the north, the Yoruba of the south, and the Ibos of the east comprise 60% of the population; about 27,000 non-Africans

Government leader

Maj. Gen. Muhammadu BUHARI, Head of the Federal Military Government and Commander in Chief

Labor force

est. 30-38 million (1982); 56% agriculture; 17% industry, commerce, and services; 15% government

Land boundaries

4,034 km Water

Language

English (official); Hausa, Yoruba, and Ibo also widely used

Legal system

based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

30 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)

Literacy

25-30%

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 30 September 1982, $13.6 million; about 4.3% of central government budget Land 923,768 km2; 35% forest; 24% arable (13% of total land area under cultivation); 4 1 % desert, waste, urban, or other

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,364,000; 735,000 fit for military service; about 62,000 reach military age (18) annually

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 October

Nationality

noun — Nigerian(s); adjective — Nigerian

Official name

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Organized labor

1-2 million wage earners belong to one of 42 recognized trade unions, which are under a single national labor federation, the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) Government

Political subdivisions

19 states, headed by appointed military governors

Population

88,148,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 3.4%

Religion

no exact figures on religious breakdown, but last census (1963) showed Nigeria to be 47% Muslim, 34% Christian, and 18% indigenous beliefs

Suffrage

none

Telecommunications

small system of wire and radio-relay links concentrated in southwestern area; 8,500 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 9 AM, 2 FM, and 12 TV stations; 2 Atlantic Ocean satellite stations, 4 domestic antennas Defense Forces

Type

military government since 31 December 1983