Nigeria (2001) | Barbados (2003) | |
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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 | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.71% (male 27,842,225; female 27,514,197) 15-64 years: 53.47% (male 34,456,738; female 33,259,194) 65 years and over: 2.82% (male 1,780,862; female 1,782,410) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.2% (male 29,621; female 29,207)
15-64 years: 70% (male 94,840; female 99,230) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,355; female 15,011) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton |
Airports | 70 (2000 est.) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999 and a peaceful transition to civilian government completed. The new 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. | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. |
Birth rate | 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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 | Bridgetown |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | tropical; rainy season (June to October) |
Coastline | 853 km | 97 km |
Constitution | NA 1999 new constitution adopted | 30 November 1966 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
Currency | naira (NGN) | Barbadian dollar (BBD) |
Death rate | 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $32 billion (2000 est.) | $692 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER embassy: 8 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (1) 261-0050, -0078 FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr.
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jibril AMINU chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 339-9201 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula is currently before the ICJ; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon is currently before the ICJ | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $250 million (1998) | $9.1 million (1995) |
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 loan from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Increases in foreign investment and oil production combined with high world oil prices should push growth over 4% in 2001-02. | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light-manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002 mainly due to a 3% decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2003, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.372 billion kWh (1999) | 725.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 18.7 billion kWh (1999) | 780 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
52.94% hydro: 47.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers |
Environment - 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 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
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% | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% |
Exchange rates | nairas per US dollar - 110.005 (January 2001), 101.697 (2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997), 21.884 (1996) | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999), 2 (1998) |
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 NA 2003) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components |
Exports - partners | US 36%, India 9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 6%, France 6%, (1999) | US 14.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 12%, UK 10.6%, Jamaica 6.2%, Saint Lucia 4.7% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $117 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.153 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 40% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $950 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | -2.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 13 10 N, 59 32 W |
Geography - note | - | easternmost Caribbean island |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
194,394 km paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 134,326 km note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled; because of poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic - in part the result of the failure of the railroad system - much of the road system is barely usable (1997) |
total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit route for cocaine from South America intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center |
Imports | $10.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components |
Imports - partners | UK 11%, Germany 10%, US 9%, France 8%, China 6% (1999) | US 41.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 17%, UK 7.3%, Japan 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | 30 November 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2000 est.) | -3.2% (2000 est.) |
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 | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export |
Infant mortality rate | 73.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.5% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | 19 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 9,570 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Provisional Ruling Council); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee) | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) |
Labor force | 66 million (1999 est.) | 128,500 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,047 km border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
33% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 44% forests and woodland: 12% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | English |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory; 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 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.07 years male: 51.07 years female: 51.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.84 years
male: 69.56 years female: 74.14 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 357,372 GRT/636,254 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 24, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 284,222 GRT/439,810 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 22, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, The Bahamas 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, UK 18 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $360 million (FY00) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
29,940,922 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 77,862 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,201,367 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 53,282 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,375,112 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1960) | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land | petroleum, fish, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Party or APP [Alhaji Yusuf ALI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [contested between Yusuf MAMMAN and Alhasi Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Barnabas GEMADE] | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] |
Population | 126,635,626
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 2001 est.) |
277,264 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.61% (2001 est.) | 0.38% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 82, FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 23.5 million (1997) | - |
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 |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000) | 108,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,700 (1997) | 8,013 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations were granted (1999) | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region |
Total fertility rate | 5.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (1992 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |
none |