Introduction

Introduction
British inIluence and control over what would become Nigeria and AIrica's most
populous country grew through the 19th century. A series oI constitutions aIter
World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960.
Following nearly 16 years oI military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999,
and a peaceIul transition to civilian government was completed. The government
continues to Iace the daunting task oI reIorming a petroleum-based economy, whose
revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and
inst itutionalizing democracy. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience
longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007
presidential elections were marred by signiIicant irregularities and violence, Nigeria
is currently experiencing its longest period oI civilian rule since independence. The
general elections oI April 2007 marked the Iirst civilian-to-civilian transIer oI power
in the country's history. In January 2010, Nigeria assumed a nonpermanent seat on
the UN Security Council Ior the 2010-11 term.

0ography ::NIGERIA
Location:

0ographic coordinat08:
10 00 N, 8 00 E
Map r010r0nc08:
AIrica
Ar0a:
total: 923,768 sq km
country compari8on to th0 world: 32
land: 910,768 sq km
wat0r: 13,000 sq km
Ar0a - comparativ0:
slightly more than twice the size oI CaliIornia
Land boundari08:
total: 4,047 km
bord0r countri08: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
Coa8tlin0:
853 km
Maritim0 claim8:
t0rritorial 80a: 12 nm
0clu8iv0 0conomic zon0: 200 nm
contin0ntal 8h0l1: 200 m depth or to the depth oI exploitation
Climat0:
varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
T0rrain:
Western AIrica, bordering the GulI oI Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast,
plains in north
l0vation 0tr0m08:
low08t point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
high08t point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Natural r08ourc08:
natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land
Land u80:
arabl0 land: 33.02
p0rman0nt crop8: 3.14
oth0r: 63.84 (2005)
Irrigat0d land:
2,930 sq km (2008)
Total r0n0wabl0 wat0r r08ourc08:
286.2 cu km (2003)
Fr08hwat0r withdrawal (dom08tic/indu8trial/agricultural):
total: 8.01 cu km/yr (21/10/69)
p0r capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazard8:
periodic droughts; Ilooding
nvironm0nt - curr0nt i88u08:
soil degradation; rapid deIorestation; urban air and water pollution; desertiIication;
oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suIIered serious damage Irom oil spills; loss oI
arable land; rapid urbanization
nvironm0nt - int0rnational agr00m0nt8:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
DesertiIication, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law oI the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Marine LiIe Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
8ign0d, but not rati1i0d: none oI the selected agreements
0ography - not0:
the Niger enters the country in the northwest and Ilows southward through tropical
rain Iorests and swamps to its delta in the GulI oI Guinea
P0opl0 and Soci0ty ::NIGERIA
Nationality:
noun: Nigerian(s)
adj0ctiv0: Nigerian
thnic group8:
Nigeria, AIrica's most populous country, is composed oI more than 250 ethnic
groups; the Iollowing are the most populous and politically inIluential: Hausa and
Fulani 29, Yoruba 21, Igbo (Ibo) 18, Ijaw 10, Kanuri 4, Ibibio 3.5, Tiv
2.5
R0ligion8:
Muslim 50, Christian 40, indigenous belieIs 10
Languag08:
English (oIIicial), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous
languages
Population:
155,215,573 (July 2011 est.)
3490 estimates Ior this country explicit ly take into account the eIIects oI excess
mortalit y due to AIDS; this can result in lower liIe expectancy, higher inIant
mortalit y, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the
distribution oI population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Ag0 8tructur0:
0-14 y0ar8: 40.9 (male 32,476,681/Iemale 31,064,539)
15-64 y0ar8: 55.9 (male 44,296,228/Iemale 42,534,542)
65 y0ar8 and ov0r: 3.1 (male 2,341,228/Iemale 2,502,355) (2011 est.)
M0dian ag0:
total: 19.2 years
mal0: 19.2 years
10mal0: 19.3 years (2011 est.)
Population growth rat0:
1.935 (2011 est.)
Birth rat0:
35.51 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
D0ath rat0:
16.06 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
N0t migration rat0:
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Urbanization:
urban population: 50 oI total population (2010)
rat0 o1 urbanization: 3.5 annual rate oI change (2010-15 est.)
Major citi08 - population:
Lagos 10.203 million; Kano 3.304 million; Ibadan 2.762 million; ABUJA (capital)
1.857 million; Kaduna 1.519 million (2009)
S0 ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/Iemale
und0r 15 y0ar8: 1.05 male(s)/Iemale
15-64 y0ar8: 1.04 male(s)/Iemale
65 y0ar8 and ov0r: 0.94 male(s)/Iemale
total population: 1.04 male(s)/Iemale (2011 est.)
Mat0rnal mortality rat0:
840 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)
In1ant mortality rat0:
total: 91.54 deaths/1,000 live births
mal0: 97.42 deaths/1,000 live births
10mal0: 85.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)
Li10 0p0ctancy at birth:
total population: 47.56 years
mal0: 46.76 years
10mal0: 48.41 years (2011 est.)

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