Nigeria (2002) | Lebanon (2004) | |
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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 | 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.6% (male 28,503,211; female 28,156,976)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 35,418,119; female 34,179,802) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 1,832,682; female 1,844,121) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.9% (male 517,356; female 496,888)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,197,430; female 1,305,339) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 117,930; female 142,275) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 70 (2001) | 8 (2003 est.) |
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: 6 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (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 (2002) |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
Background | Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The 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. | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shia organization, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon, based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. |
Birth rate | 39.22 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.4 billion
expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $4.414 billion
expenditures: $7.026 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 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 | Beirut |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 853 km | 225 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted May 1999 | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
Currency | naira (NGN) | Lebanese pound (LBP) |
Death rate | 14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $32 billion (2000 est.) | $20.79 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER
embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205 FAX: [234] (9) 523-0353 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
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 Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | Nigeria disputes several villages with Benin along the Okpara River, and only 35 km of their common boundary are demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria requests and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents | Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $250 million (1998) (1998) | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001); $4.2 billion in soft loan pledges November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference (2002) |
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 credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. The agreement was allowed to expire by the IMF in November 2001, however, and Nigeria appears unlikely to receive substantial multilateral assistance in 2002. Nonetheless, increases in foreign oil investment and oil production should push growth over 4% in 2002. | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001, 1.5% in 2002, and 3% in 2003. During the 1990s, annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2003, massive receipts from donor nations stabilized government finances in 2002-04. |
Electricity - consumption | 14.768 billion kWh (2000) | 7.44 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.183 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 15.9 billion kWh (2000) | 6.728 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; rapid urbanization | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, 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% | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | nairas per US dollar - 115 (January 2002), 101.697 (2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.84 (1999) |
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 19 April 2003) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2% |
chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Omar KARAMI (since 21 October 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next election date NA); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim election results: For 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | $20.3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
Exports - partners | US 46%, Spain 11%, India 6%, France 5%, Brazil (2000) | Switzerland 10.8%, UAE 10%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, US 7.3%, Turkey 5.5%, Jordan 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $105.9 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.82 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 39%
industry: 33% services: 28% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2001 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Geography - note | the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea | Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 193,200 km
paved: 59,892 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 133,308 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 (2001) |
total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 41% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity, along with unwillingness of the government to address the deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering regime make money laundering a major problem | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption |
Imports | $13.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco |
Imports - partners | UK 11%, US 9%, France 9%, Germany 7%, China (2000) | France 13.4%, Germany 11.7%, Italy 10.7%, Syria 5.3%, China 5.2%, UK 4.9%, US 4.5% (2003) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.3% (2001 est.) | NA |
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 | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating |
Infant mortality rate | 72.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 25.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.9% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,330 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
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) | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | 66 million (1999 est.) | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land: 30.96%
permanent crops: 2.79% other: 66.25% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.62%
permanent crops: 13.98% other: 69.4% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 13 April 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held 13 April 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 National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held spring 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by sect - Muslim 64 ( of which Sunnis 27, Shia 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 50.59 years
male: 50.58 years female: 50.6 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.91 years female: 74.91 years (2004 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: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 331,094 GRT/614,171 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT
by type: bulk 5, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: Greece 7, India 1, Netherlands 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1, Syria 2 registered in other countries: 52 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $374.9 million (FY01) | $541 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (FY01) | 4.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 30,808,598 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,049,097 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 17,698,911 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 643,050 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 1,375,112 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960) | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; flooding | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km | oil 209 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Party or APP [leader NA]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH] | political activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, ethnic, clan, and economic considerations |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 129,934,911
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 2002 est.) |
3,777,218 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2000 est.) | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.54% (2002 est.) | 1.3% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (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 (2001) |
total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: rail system was unusable because of damage during the civil war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized |
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: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
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: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: country code - 961; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000 est) | 678,800 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 200,000 (2001) | 775,100 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.49 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.28% 28% (1992 est.) (1992 est.) | 18% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |
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