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Nigeria

Location of Nigeria. Source: Vardion/Wikipedia

Source: CIA World Factbook

Nigeria is a nation in western-Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean, and between Benin to the west and Cameroonto the southeast. It is Africa's most populous country with approximately 138 million people. The Niger River enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea. Southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus, with mountains in southeast and plains in north.

Nigeria's major environmental issues include: soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; and, rapid urbanization. It is also susceptible to periodic droughts and flooding.

British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history.

Geography

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

Geographic Coordinates: 10 00 N, 8 00 E

Area: 923,768 km² (910,768 km² land and 13,000 km² water)

arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14%
other: 63.84% (2005)

Land Boundaries: 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

Natural Hazards: periodic droughts; flooding

Terrain: Southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north. Its lowest point is Atlantic Ocean (0 metres) and its highest point is Chappal Waddi (2,419 metres).

Climate: Varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north

Government

Government Type: Federal Republic

Capital: Abuja

Independence Date: 1 October 1960 (from UK)

Legal System: based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

International Environmental Agreements

Nigeria is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands.

People and Society

Population: 138,283,240 (July 2009 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 42.2% (male 29,378,127/female 28,953,864)
15-64 years: 54.7% (male 38,466,129/female 37,172,355)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 2,046,309/female 2,266,456) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.382% (2008 est.)

Birth Rate: 39.98 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: 0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 47.81 years  (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 5.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani

Literacy (2003 est.): 68% (male: 75.7% - female: 60.6%)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resources: 286.2 cu km (2003)

Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 8.01 cu km/yr (21% domestic, 10% industrial, 69% agricultural). Per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agriculture Products: cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish

Irrigated Land: 2,820 sq km (2003)

Resources

Natural Resources: natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land.

Energy

Health

Prevalence Rate of HIV/AIDS in Adults: 5.4% (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 and yellow fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: one of the most highly endemic areas for Lassa fever
water contact disease: leptospirosis and shistosomiasis

Conflict

International Disputes: Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues; the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementation; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 5,778 (Liberia).  Internally Displaced Persons: undetermined (communal violence between Christians and Muslims since President Obasanjo's election in 1999; displacement is mostly short-term) (2007)

Economy

Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 80% 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. In 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. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments - a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria's total $37 billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2007, based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices. Newly-elected President YAR'ADUA has pledged to continue the economic reforms of his predecessor and the proposed budget for 2008 reflects the administrations emphasis on infrastructure improvements. Infrastructure is the main impediment to growth. The government is working toward developing stronger public-private partnerships for electricity and roads.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $292.7 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $166.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP- real growth rate: 6.4% (2007 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $2,000 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 17.6%
industry: 52.7%
services: 29.7% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: 70% (2007 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, small commercial ship construction and repair

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

Export Partners: US 51.2%, Brazil 7.9%, Spain 7.6% (2006)

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

Import Partners: China 10.9%, Netherlands 8.2%, US 8.1%, UK 5.4%, Brazil 5.2%, France 4.5%, Germany 4.3% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: $6.437 billion (2005)

Currency: naira (NGN)

Ports and Terminals: Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos

Further Reading

1. CIA World Factbook