NIGERIA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 923,770 km2; land area: 910,770 km2 Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California Land boundaries: 4,047 km total; 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 depth of exploitation; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 30 nm Disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; Nigerian proposals to reopen maritime boundary negotiations and redemarcate the entire land boundary have been rejected by Cameroon 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 Natural resources: crude oil, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas Land use: arable land 31%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 23%; forest and woodland 15%; other 28%; includes irrigated NEGL% Environment: recent droughts in north severely affecting marginal agricultural activities; desertification; soil degradation, rapid deforestation PEOPLE Population: 122,470,574 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991) Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 48 years male, 50 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Nigerian(s); adjective--Nigerian Ethnic divisions: more than 250 tribal groups; Hausa and Fulani of the north, Yoruba of the southwest, and Ibos of the southeast make up 65% of the population; about 27,000 non-Africans Religion: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% Language: English (official); Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, and several other languages also widely used Literacy: 51% (male 62%, female 40%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) Labor force: 42,844,000; agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%; 49% of population of working age (1985) Organized labor: 3,520,000 wage earners belong to 42 recognized trade unions, which come under a single national labor federation--the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Federal Republic of Nigeria Type: military government since 31 December 1983 Capital: Lagos; note--some government departments have relocated to the designated new capital in Abuja Administrative divisions: 21 states and 1 territory*; Abuja Capital Territory*, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bendel, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Gongola, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto Independence: 1 October 1960 (from UK) Constitution: 1 October 1979, amended 9 February 1984, revised 1989 Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic, and tribal law National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1960) Executive branch: president of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, Armed Forces Ruling Council, National Council of State, Council of Ministers (cabinet) Legislative branch: National Assembly was dissolved after the military coup of 31 December 1983 Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeal Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces Gen. Ibrahim BABANGIDA (since 27 August 1985) Political parties and leaders: two political parties established by the government in 1989--Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC) Suffrage: universal at age 21 Elections: President--scheduled for 1 October 1992; National Assembly--scheduled for early 1992 Communists: the pro-Communist underground consists of a small fraction of the Nigerian left; leftist leaders are prominent in the country's central labor organization but have little influence on the government Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hamzat AHMADU; Chancery at 2201 M Street NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 822-1500; there are Nigerian Consulates General in Atlanta, New York and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Lannon WALKER; Embassy at 2 Eleke Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos (mailing address is P. O. Box 554, Lagos); telephone 234 (1) 610097; there is a US Consulate General in Kaduna Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green ECONOMY Overview: Although Nigeria is Africa's leading oil-producing country, it remains poor with a $280 per capita GDP. In 1990, despite rising oil prices and a sharp drop in inflation, performance remained slack with continuing underutilization of industrial capacity and a second year of relatively weak agricultural performance. Agricultural production was up only 4.2% in 1990, still below the 1987 level. Industrial output showed a 7.2% increase, but remained below the 1985 level. Government efforts to reduce Nigeria's dependence on oil exports and to sustain noninflationary growth have fallen short due to inadequate new investment funds. Living standards continue to deteriorate from the higher level of the early 1980s oil boom. GDP: $27.2 billion, per capita $230; real growth rate 2.7% (1990 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (1990) Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues $8.0 billion; expenditures $8.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.) Exports: $13.0 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--oil 95%, cocoa, rubber; partners--EC 51%, US 32% Imports: $9.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--consumer goods, capital equipment, chemicals, raw materials; partners--EC, US External debt: $35 billion (December 1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 7.2% (1990 est.); accounts for 23% of GDP, including petroleum Electricity: 4,737,000 kW capacity; 11,270 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1989) Industries: crude oil and mining--coal, tin, columbite; primary processing industries--palm oil, peanut, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins; manufacturing industries--textiles, cement, building materials, food products, footwear, chemical, printing, ceramics, steel Agriculture: accounts for 28% of GNP and half of labor force; inefficient small-scale farming dominates; once a large net exporter of food and now an importer; cash crops--cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber; food crops--corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, yams; livestock--cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forestry resources extensively exploited Illicit drugs: illicit heroin and some cocaine trafficking; marijuana cultivation for domestic consumption and export; major transit country for heroin en route from Southwest Asia via Africa to Western Europe and the US; growing transit route for cocaine from South America via West Africa to Western Europe and the US Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $705 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.2 billion Currency: naira (plural--naira); 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo Exchange rates: naira (N) per US$1--8.707 (December 1990), 8.038 (1990), 7.3647 (1989), 4.5370 (1988), 4.0160 (1987), 1.7545 (1986), 0.8938 (1985) Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 3,505 km 1.067-meter gauge Highways: 107,990 km total 30,019 km paved (mostly bituminous-surface treatment); 25,411 km laterite, gravel, crushed stone, improved earth; 52,560 km unimproved Inland waterways: 8,575 km consisting of Niger and Benue Rivers and smaller rivers and creeks Pipelines: 2,042 km crude oil; 500 km natural gas; 3,000 km refined products Ports: Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Warri, Onne, Sapele Merchant marine: 28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 420,658 GRT/668,951 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 6 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 1 bulk Civil air: 76 major transport aircraft Airports: 81 total, 68 usable; 32 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: above-average system limited by poor maintenance; major expansion in progress; radio relay and cable routes; 155,000 telephones; stations--37 AM, 19 FM, 38 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, domestic, with 19 stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Police Force Manpower availability: males 15-49, 28,070,431; 16,040,870 fit for military service; 1,302,970 reach military age (18) annually Defense expenditures: $300 million, 1% of GNP (1990 est.)