Background
British influence and control over what would become Nigeria and Africa's most populous country 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
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Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
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10 00 N, 8 00 E
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total: 923,768 sq km
country comparison to the world: 32
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km
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slightly more than twice the size of California
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total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
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853 km
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
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southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north
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lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
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natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land
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arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14%
other: 63.84% (2005)
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2,820 sq km (2003)
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286.2 cu km (2003)
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total: 8.01 cu km/yr (21%/10%/69%)
per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)
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periodic droughts; flooding
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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
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party to: 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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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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
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People
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149,229,090
country comparison to the world: 8
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)
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0-14 years: 41.5% (male 31,624,050/female 30,242,637)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 42,240,641/female 40,566,672)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 2,211,840/female 2,343,250) (2009 est.)
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total: 19 years
male: 18.9 years
female: 19.1 years (2009 est.)
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1.999% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59 |
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36.65 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30 |
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16.56 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13 |
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-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92 |
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urban population: 48% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 3.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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total: 94.35 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 13
male: 100.38 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 87.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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total population: 46.94 years
country comparison to the world: 212
male: 46.16 years
female: 47.76 years (2009 est.)
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4.91 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32 |
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3.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23 |
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2.6 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3 |
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170,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3 |
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degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, 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
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian
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Nigeria, 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%
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Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
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English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68%
male: 75.7%
female: 60.6% (2003 est.)
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total: 8 years
male: 9 years
female: 7 years (2004)
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0.9% of GDP (1991)
country comparison to the world: 180 |
Government
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conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria
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Federal Republic
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name: Abuja
geographic coordinates: 9 05 N, 7 32 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory*, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara
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1 October 1960 (from the UK)
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Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)
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adopted 5 May 1999; effective 29 May 1999
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based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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18 years of age; universal
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chief of state: President Goodluck E. Jonathan (sworn-in after the death of President Umar Musa Yar'Adua); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Goodluck E. Jonathan
cabinet: Federal Executive Council
elections: president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011)
election results: Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA elected president; percent of vote - Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA 69.8%, Muhammadu BUHARI 18.7%, Atiku ABUBAKAR 7.5%, Orji Uzor KALU 1.7%, other 2.3%
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bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats, 3 from each state plus 1 from Abuja; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011); House of Representatives - last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.7%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%, other 8.7%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 8.8%, UNPP 2.8%, NPD 1.9%, APGA 1.6%, PRP 0.8%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6, UNPP 2, APGA 2, NPD 1, PRP 1, vacant 1
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Supreme Court (judges recommended by the National Judicial Council and appointed by the president); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government from a pool of judges recommended by the National Judicial Council)
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Accord Party [Ikra Aliyu BILBIS]; Action Congress or AC [Hassan ZUMI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Mojisoluwa AKINFENWA]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Edwin UME-EZEOKE]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]; Democratic People's Party or DPP [Jeremiah USENI]; Fresh Democratic Party [Chris OKOTIE]; Labor Party [Dan NWANYANWU]; Movement for the Restoration and Defense of Democracy or MRDD [Mohammed Gambo JIMETA]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Vincent OGBULAFOR]; Peoples Progressive Alliance [Clement EBRI]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Mallam Selah JAMBO]
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Academic Staff Union for Universities or ASUU; Campaign for Democracy or CD; Civil Liberties Organization or CLO; Committee for the Defense of Human Rights or CDHR; Constitutional Right Project or CRP; Human Right Africa; National Association of Democratic Lawyers or NADL; National Association of Nigerian Students or NANS; Nigerian Bar Association or NBA; Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC; Nigerian Medical Association or NMA; the Press; Universal Defenders of Democracy or UDD
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ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
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Economy
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Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, has undertaken several reforms over the past decade. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues. 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. Since 2008 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. Based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices, GDP rose strongly in 2007 and 2008. President YAR'ADUA has pledged to continue the economic reforms of his predecessor with 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.
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$335.4 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
$318.6 billion (2007 est.)
$299.4 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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