Nigeria (2001) | New Zealand (2002) | |
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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 | 16 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, West Coast |
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: 22.2% (male 443,921; female 422,804)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,299,973; female 1,290,097) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 196,640; female 254,602) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 70 (2000 est.) | 106 (2001) |
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: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 5 (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.) |
total: 67
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 39 (2002) |
Area | total:
923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | about the size of Colorado |
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 Polynesian Maoris reached New Zealand in about the 800 AD. The British proclaimed their sovereignty over the islands in 1840 and began settlement that same year. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. |
Birth rate | 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $16.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01) |
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 | Wellington |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | temperate with sharp regional contrasts |
Coastline | 853 km | 15,134 km |
Constitution | NA 1999 new constitution adopted | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
Currency | naira (NGN) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $32 billion (2000 est.) | $31.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependent areas | - | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau |
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 Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP 96531-1001 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 478-1701 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
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 L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
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 | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $99.7 million (FY00/01) |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $250 million (1998) | - |
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. | Since 1984 the government has accomplished major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per capita incomes have been rising, however, they remain below the level of the four largest EU economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, achieving about 3% growth in 2001, but the New Zealand business cycle tends to lag the US cycle by about six months, so the worst of the downturn may not hit until mid-2002. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.372 billion kWh (1999) | 33.315 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 18.7 billion kWh (1999) | 35.823 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
52.94% hydro: 47.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 27%
hydro: 66% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside |
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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% | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) |
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 Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA September 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation 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 a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $14.2 billion (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery |
Exports - partners | US 36%, India 9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 6%, France 6%, (1999) | Australia 20.4%, US 14.5%, Japan 13.5%, UK 5.4%, South Korea, China (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $117 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $75.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 40% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 23% services: 69% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $950 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 3.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 41 00 S, 174 00 E |
Geography - note | - | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2002) |
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: 92,200 km
paved: 53,568 km (including at least 144 km of expressways) unpaved: 38,632 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: 0%
highest 10%: 30% (1991 est.) |
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 | - |
Imports | $10.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $12.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics |
Imports - partners | UK 11%, Germany 10%, US 9%, France 8%, China 6% (1999) | Australia 22.5%, US 17.5%, Japan 11%, UK 4%, China, Germany (2000) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | 26 September 1907 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2001 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 | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining |
Infant mortality rate | 73.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 6.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.5% (2000 est.) | 2.6% (2001 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 | ABEDA, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | 36 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 9,570 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,850 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) | High Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 66 million (1999 est.) | 1.92 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995) (1995) |
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: 5.8%
permanent crops: 6.44% other: 87.76% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | English (official), Maori (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.07 years male: 51.07 years female: 51.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.15 years
male: 75.17 years female: 81.27 years (2002 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 can read and write
total population: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
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: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 68,427 GRT/106,627 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $360 million (FY00) | $515.6 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00) | 1.2% (FY2001/02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
29,940,922 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,010,316 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,201,367 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 850,185 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,375,112 (2001 est.) |
males: 26,480 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1960) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km | petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km; liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 150 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] | ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Alliance (a coalition of the New Labor Party, Democratic Party, New Zealand Liberal Party, and Mana Motuhake) [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [William (Bill) English]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; United Future or UF [leader NA]; United New Zealand or UNZ [Peter DUNNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
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.) |
3,908,037 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.61% (2001 est.) | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 82, FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 23.5 million (1997) | 3.75 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 |
total: 3,908 km
narrow gauge: 3,908 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 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: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000) | 1.92 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,700 (1997) | 2.2 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations were granted (1999) | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (1992 est.) | 5.5% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |
1,609 km
note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements |