| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
| Capital: |
Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now moved to Abuja |
| Location: |
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
10 00 N, 8 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly more than twice the size of California |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 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 |
|
| 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
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 |
| 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 (in 12 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 19 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 61.9%, Muhammadu BUHARI (ANPP) 31.2%, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu OJUKWU (APGA) 3.3%, other 3.6% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (107 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (346 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); House of Representatives - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.6%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 73, ANPP 28, AD 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 9.3%, other 8.8%; seats by party - PDP 213, ANPP 95, AD 31, other 7; note - two constituencies are not reported |
| 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: |
Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Don ETIEBET]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Chekwas OKORIE]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Saleh JAMBO] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
128,771,988
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 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 42.3% (male 27,466,766/female 27,045,092)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 35,770,593/female 34,559,414)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,874,157/female 2,055,966) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 18.63 years
male: 18.71 years
female: 18.55 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
| Ethnic groups: |
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% |
| Religions: |
Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
| Languages: |
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
853,100 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
3,149,500 (2003) |
| 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: country code - 234; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ng |
| Internet hosts: |
1,142 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
750,000 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 194,394 km
paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways)
unpaved: 134,326 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
condensate 105 km; gas 1,896 km; oil 3,638 km; refined products 3,626 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 327,808 GRT/608,076 DWT
by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 1
foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 2, Pakistan 1)
registered in other countries: 25 (2005) |
| Airports: |
70 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (2004 est.) |
|
