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.

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N 8 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 923,768 km²
Water: 13,000 km²
Land: 910,768 km²
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries
Total: 4,047 km
Border countries: (4) Benin 773 km; , Cameroon 1,690 km; , Chad 87 km; , Niger 1,497 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM

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
Extremes highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m

Natural resources: natural gas petroleum tin columbite iron ore coal limestone lead zinc arable land

Land use
Arable land: 30.96%
Permanent crops: 2.79%
Other: 66.25% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 2,330 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts; flooding

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

Population
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 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 2.54% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: 45% (2000 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Nigerian
Adjective: Nigerian

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%

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

Religions: Muslim 50% Christian 40% indigenous beliefs 10%

Age structure
0-14 years: 43.6% (male 28,503,211; female 28,156,976)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 35,418,119; female 34,179,802)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 1,832,682; female 1,844,121) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.54% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 39.22 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 14.1 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.27 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male/female
Total population: 1.03 male/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 72.49 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 50.59 years
Female: 50.6 years (2002 est.)
Male: 50.58 years

Total fertility rate: 5.49 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 5.06% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 2.7 million (1999 est.)
Deaths: 250,000 (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 57.1%
Male: 67.3%
Female: 47.3% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
Conventional short form: Nigeria

Government type: republic transitioning from military to civilian rule

Capital: Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now made the move to Abuja

Administrative divisions: 36 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

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 (only in some 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 27 February 1999 (next to be held 19 April 2003)
Election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2%

Legislative branch
Elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held 13 April 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held 13 April 2003)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party - PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69

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)

Political parties and leaders: All People's Party or APP [leader NA]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH]

International organization participation: ACP AfDB C CCC ECA ECOWAS FAO G-19 G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU MINURSO MONUC NAM OAU OIC OPCW OPEC PCA UN UNAMSIL UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIKOM UNITAR UNMEE UNMIK UNMOP UNMOT UNMOVIC UNU UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jibril AMINU
In the us consulates general: Atlanta and New York
In the us fax: [1] (202) 775-1385
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 986-8,400
In the us chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER
From the us embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos
From the us telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5,857/2,235/2,205
From the us fax: [234] (9) 523-0353

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) white and green

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 credit from the IMF both contingent on economic reforms. The agreement was allowed to expire by the IMF in November 2001 however and Nigeria appears unlikely to receive substantial multilateral assistance in 2002. Nonetheless increases in foreign oil investment and oil production should push growth over 4% in 2002.

Real gdp growth rate: 3.5% (2001 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 39%
Industry: 33%
Services: 28% (2000 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

Industrial production growth rate: -0.3% (2001 est.)

Labor force: 66 million (1999 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 70%
By occupation industry: 10%
By occupation services: 20% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 0.28% 28% (1992 est.) (1992 est.)

Population below poverty line: 45% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2%
Highest 10: 41% (1996-97)

Distribution of family income gini index: 51 (1996-97 )

Budget
Revenues: $3.4 billion
Expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 14.9% (2001 est.)

Exports: $20.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 95% cocoa rubber
Partners: US 46% Spain 11% India 6% France 5% Brazil (2000)

Imports: $13.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: machinery chemicals transport equipment manufactured goods food and live animals
Partners: UK 11% US 9% France 9% Germany 7% China (2000)

Debt external: $32 billion (2000 est.)

Exchange rates: nairas per US dollar - 115 (January 2002) 101.697 (2000) 92.338 (1999) 21.886 (1998) 21.886 (1997)

Electricity
Production: 15.9 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 64%
Production by source hydro: 36%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 14.768 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 19 million kWh (2000)
Imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 500,000 (2000 est)
Mobile cellular: 200,000 (2001)

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)

Internet
Country code: .ng
Service providers isps: 11 (2000)
Users: 100,000 (2000)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $374.9 million (FY01)
Percent of gdp: 1% (FY01)

Airports: 70 (2001)
With paved runways total: 36
With paved runways over 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 10
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2002)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With unpaved runways total: 34
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 18 (2002)

Heliports: 1 (2002)

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

Railways
Total: 3,557 km
Narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
Standard 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 (2001)

Waterways
Note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks

Merchant marine
Total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 331,094 GRT/614,171 DWT
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, United States 1 (2002 est.)
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1

Disputes international: Nigeria disputes several villages with Benin along the Okpara River and only 35 km of their common boundary are demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon Chad Niger and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region the site of continuing armed clashes; oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center around Bakasi Peninsula where armed clashes continue Bouram Island on Lake Chad and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the Gulf of Guinea which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria requests and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary which lacks clear demarcation in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents

Illicit drugs: a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European East Asian and North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity along with unwillingness of the government to address the deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering regime make money laundering a major problem