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General
Information
 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: 923,770 sq km
land: 910,770 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly
more than twice the size of California, USA.
Land boundaries: total:
4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km,
Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 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
Elevation extremes:
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
Population:
126,635,626
| Ethnic
groups: Nigeria, which is 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 |
Government:
Government
type: republic
transitioning from military to civilian rule
Administrative divisions: states
and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal Capital
Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi,
Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi,
Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna,
Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos,
Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau,
Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara
Legal system: based on English
common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some
northern states), and traditional law
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Diplomacy
Diplomatic
representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador
Jibril AMINU
chancery: 1333 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX:
[1] (202) 775-1385
consulate(s) general: Atlanta and
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Howard
Franklin JETER
embassy: US 8 Mambilla Drive,
Abuja
mailing address: P. O. Box 554,
Lagos
telephone: [234] (1) 261-0050,
-0078 FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257 |
Economic
facts
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Economy
- overview: The
oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by
political instability, corruption, and poor
macroeconomic management, is undergoing
substantial economic reform 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, and Nigeria, 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 loan from the IMF,
both contingent on economic reforms. Increases in
foreign investment and oil production combined
with high world oil prices should push growth over
4% in 2001-02.
GDP: purchasing
power parity - $117 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5%
(2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing
power parity - $950 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 40%
services: 20% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 45%
(2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by
percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.8%
(1994)
Labor force: 66 million (1999
est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (1992
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
Agriculture - products: cocoa,
peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet,
cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep,
goats, pigs; timber; fish
Exports: $22.2 billion (f.o.b.,
2000 est.)
Currency: naira (NGN)
Exchange rates: nairas per US
dollar - 110.005 (January 2001), 101.697 (2000),
92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997),
21.884 (1996)
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Communication
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: satellite earth
stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1
Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South
African Far East)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 82,
FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios: 23.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in
1993, 14 licenses to operate private television
stations were granted (1999)
Televisions: 6.9 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ng
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 11
(2000) |
Transportation
Railways:
total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge
note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock
and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the
capacity and utility of the system; a project to
restore Nigeria's railways is now underway
Highways:
total: 194,394 km
paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194
km of expressways)
unpaved: 134,326 km
note: many of the roads reported as paved may be
graveled; because of poor maintenance and years of
heavy freight traffic - in part the result of the
failure of the railroad system - much of the road
system is barely usable (1997)
Waterways: 8,575 km
note: consisting of the
Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and
creeks
Ports and harbors: Calabar,
Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri
Merchant marine:
total: 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 357,372 GRT/636,254 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 10,
chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 24, roll
on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est)
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| QUICK INFO |
Full Name:
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Area:
924,000 sq km (360,360 sq mi)
Population:
125 million
Capital:
Abuja
People:
250 different ethnic groups, including: Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, Ibo, Kanuri, Ibibio, Tiv, Ijaw
Language:
English and French. The main African languages are Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Edo, Efik
Religion:
Muslim (50%), Christian: mostly Roman Catholic (40%), animist (10%)
Government:
Parliamentary democracy
President:
Olusegun Obasanjo
GDP:
US$143.5 billion
GDP per head:
US$1380
Annual Growth:
1.6%
Inflation:
14%
Major Industries:
Crude oil, natural gas, coal, palm oil, peanuts, cotton
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