1996 Edition

Description

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

Location

10 00 N, 8 00 E -- Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly more than twice the size of California

land area

910,770 sq km

total area

923,770 sq km

Climate

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

Coastline

853 km

Environment

current issues

soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification; recent droughts in north severely affecting marginal agricultural activities

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

natural hazards

periodic droughts

Geographic coordinates

10 00 N, 8 00 E

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

Irrigated land

8,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km

total

4,047 km

Land use

arable land

31%

forest and woodland

15%

meadows and pastures

23%

other

28%

permanent crops

3%

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

continental shelf

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

30 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas

Terrain

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

highest point

Chappal Waddi 2,419 m

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

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.)

Birth rate

42.89 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

12.71 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

non-Africans 27,000

north

Hausa and Fulani

note

Hausa and Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibos together make up 65% of population

southeast

Ibos

southwest

Yoruba

Infant mortality rate

72.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

55.65 years (1996 est.)

male

53.06 years

total population

54.34 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

female

47.3%

male

67.3%

total population

57.1%

Nationality

adjective

Nigerian

noun

Nigerian(s)

Net migration rate

0.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

103,912,489 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

3.05% (1996 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

all ages

1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

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

Total fertility rate

6.24 children born/woman (1996 est.)

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

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

Constitution

1979 constitution still in force; plan for 1989 constitution to take effect in 1993 was not implemented

Data code

NI

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

chief of mission

Ambassador Zubair Mahmud KAZAURE

consulate(s) general

New York

telephone

[1] (202) 986-8400

Executive branch

cabinet

Federal Executive Council

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)

FAX

[234] (1) 261-0257

Flag

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

House of Representatives

suspended after military takeover of 17 November 1993

Independence

1 October 1960 (from UK)

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

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

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly

Name of country

conventional long form

Federal Republic of Nigeria

conventional short form

Nigeria

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 October (1960)

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

Senate

suspended after military takeover of 17 November 1993

Suffrage

21 years of age; universal

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

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

Agriculture

cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forest resources extensively exploited

Budget

expenditures

$6.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1994 est.)

revenues

$2.7 billion

Currency

1 naira (N) = 100 kobo

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $NA

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.

Electricity

capacity

4,570,000 kW

consumption per capita

109 kWh (1993)

production

11.3 billion kWh

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)

Exports

$9.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

oil 98%, cocoa, rubber

partners

US 52%, EC 34%

External debt

$32.5 billion (1993)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $135.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

38%

industry

22%

services

40% (1994 est.)

GDP per capita

$1,300 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

2.6% (1995 est.)

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

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%

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

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

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.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $172 million, about 1% of GDP (1992)

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.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 35, FM 17, shortwave 0

Radios

20 million (1992 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

Telephones

492,204 (1990 est.)

Television broadcast stations

28

Televisions

3.8 million (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

66

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

10

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

10

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

8

with paved runways over 3 047 m

6

with paved runways under 914 m

18

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

1

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

12 (1995 est.)

with unpaved runways over 3 047 m

1

Heliports

1 (1995 est.)

Highways

paved

31,500 km

total

112,140 km

unpaved

80,640 km (1991 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 1, cargo 16, chemical tanker 3, oil tanker 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1995 est.)

total

33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 387,552 GRT/636,578 DWT

Pipelines

crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km

Ports

Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri

Railways

narrow gauge

3,505 km 1.067-m gauge

standard gauge

52 km 1.435-m gauge

total

3,557 km (1995)

Waterways

8,575 km consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks