Nigeria (2005) | Niger (2006) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory*, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara | 8 regions (regions, singular - region) includes 1 capital district* (communite urbaine); Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.3% (male 27,466,766/female 27,045,092)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 35,770,593/female 34,559,414) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,874,157/female 2,055,966) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.9% (male 2,994,022/female 2,882,273)
15-64 years: 50.7% (male 3,262,114/female 3,083,522) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 150,982/female 152,181) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | cowpeas, cotton, peanuts, millet, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), rice; cattle, sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, horses, poultry |
Airports | 70 (2004 est.) | 28 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 36
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. Despite some irregularities, the April 2003 elections marked the first civilian transfer of power in Nigeria's history. | Niger became independent from France in 1960 and experienced single-party and military rule until 1991, when Gen. Ali SAIBOU was forced by public pressure to allow multiparty elections, which resulted in a democratic government in 1993. Political infighting brought the government to a standstill and in 1996 led to a coup by Col. Ibrahim BARE. In 1999 BARE was killed in a coup by military officers who promptly restored democratic rule and held elections that brought Mamadou TANDJA to power in December of that year. TANDJA was reelected in 2004. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world with minimal government services and insufficient funds to develop its resource base. The largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. |
Birth rate | 40.65 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 50.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.78 billion
expenditures: $11.47 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $320 million - including $134 million from foreign sources
expenditures: $320 million; including capital expenditures of $178 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now moved to Abuja | name: Niamey
geographic coordinates: 13 31 N, 2 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south |
Coastline | 853 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | new constitution adopted May 1999 | new constitution adopted 18 July 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger local long form: Republique du Niger local short form: Niger |
Death rate | 17.18 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 20.91 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $30.55 billion (2004 est.) | $2.1 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John CAMPBELL
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 Bernadette M. ALLEN
embassy: Rue Des Ambassades, Niamey mailing address: B. P. 11201, Niamey telephone: [227] 73 31 69 FAX: [227] 73 55 60 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Professor George A. OBIOZOR
chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Aminata Maiga Djibrilla TOURE
chancery: 2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4224 through 4227 FAX: [1] (202)483-3169 |
Disputes - international | ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakassi Peninsula, then agreed, but has yet to withdraw its forces while much of the indigenous population opposes cession; in 2004, some 17,000 Nigerian refugees fleeing ethnic conflicts between pastoralists and farmers in 2002 still reside in Cameroon; the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision, the unresolved Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementation; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Benin on the Okpara River; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger | Libya claims about 25,000 sq km in a currently dormant dispute; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries |
Economic aid - recipient | IMF $250 million (1998) | $453.3 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms 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 - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the country, 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. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In the last year the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. During 2003 the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. GDP rose strongly in 2004. | Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. It is a landlocked, Sub-Saharan nation, whose economy centers on subsistence crops, livestock, and some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Drought cycles, desertification, a 2.9% population growth rate, and the drop in world demand for uranium have undercut the economy. Niger shares a common currency, the CFA franc, and a common central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), with seven other members of the West African Monetary Union. In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief under the International Monetary Fund program for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and concluded an agreement with the Fund on a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Debt relief provided under the enhanced HIPC initiative significantly reduces Niger's annual debt service obligations, freeing funds for expenditures on basic health care, primary education, HIV/AIDS prevention, rural infrastructure, and other programs geared at poverty reduction. In December 2005, it was announced that Niger had received 100% multilateral debt relief from the IMF, which translates into the forgiveness of approximately $86 million USD in debts to the IMF, excluding the remaining assistance under HIPC. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have recovered somewhat in the last few years. A drought and locust infestation in 2005 led to food shortages for as many as 2.5 million Nigerians. |
Electricity - consumption | 18.43 billion kWh (2002) | 263.9 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 30 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 50 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 19.85 billion kWh (2002) | 230 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Bagzane 2,022 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 | overgrazing; soil erosion; deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of poaching and habitat destruction |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Nigeria, 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% | Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri (Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200 French expatriates |
Exchange rates | nairas per US dollar - 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58 (2002), 111.23 (2001), 101.7 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
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 19 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 61.9%, Muhammadu BUHARI (ANPP) 31.2%, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu OJUKWU (APGA) 3.3%, other 3.6% |
chief of state: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mamadou TANDJA (since 22 December 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister Hama AMADOU (since 31 December 1999) was appointed by the president and shares some executive responsibilities with the president cabinet: 26-member Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); second round last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Mamadou TANDJA reelected president; percent of vote - Mamadou TANDJA 65.5%, Mahamadou ISSOUFOU 34.5% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | uranium ore, livestock, cowpeas, onions |
Exports - partners | US 47.5%, Brazil 10.7%, Spain 7.1% (2004) | France 47.8%, Nigeria 21.4%, US 20.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and green with a small orange disk (representing the sun) centered in the white band; similar to the flag of India, which has a blue spoked wheel centered in the white band |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 30.5% services: 33.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 39%
industry: 17% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) | 7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 16 00 N, 8 00 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 | landlocked; one of the hottest countries in the world; northern four-fifths is desert, southern one-fifth is savanna, suitable for livestock and limited agriculture |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 194,394 km
paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 134,326 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1995) |
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; remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime | - |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | foodstuffs, machinery, vehicles and parts, petroleum, cereals |
Imports - partners | China 9.4%, US 8.4%, UK 7.8%, Netherlands 5.9%, France 5.4%, Germany 4.9%, Italy 4% (2004) | France 14.5%, US 10.7%, French Polynesia 7.5%, Nigeria 7.4%, Italy 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, Germany 4.5%, China 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | 3 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.8% (2004 est.) | 5.1% (2003 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, small commercial ship construction and repair | uranium mining, cement, brick, soap, textiles, food processing, chemicals, slaughterhouses |
Infant mortality rate | total: 98.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.69 deaths/1,000 live births female: 91.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 118.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 114.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 16.5% (2004 est.) | 0.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 2,330 sq km (1998 est.) | 730 sq km (2003) |
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) | State Court or Cour d'Etat; Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 55.67 million (2004 est.) | 70,000 salaried workers, 60% of whom are employed in the public sector (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 90%
industry: 6% services: 4% |
Land boundaries | total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
total: 5,697 km
border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km, Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km |
Land use | arable land: 31.29%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 65.75% (2001) |
arable land: 11.43%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 88.56% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law | based on French civil law system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats - 3 from each state plus one from Abuja, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (346 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); House of Representatives - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.7%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 8.8%, other 9.3%; seats by party - PDP 223, ANPP 96, AD 34, other 6; note - one seat is vacant |
unicameral National Assembly (113 seats; note - expanded from 83 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNSD 47, CDS 22, PNDS 25, RSD 7, RDP 6, ANDP 5, PSDN 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.74 years
male: 46.21 years female: 47.29 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 43.76 years
male: 43.8 years female: 43.73 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 17.6% male: 25.8% female: 9.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Western Africa, southeast of Algeria |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 327,808 GRT/608,076 DWT
by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 2, Pakistan 1) registered in other countries: 25 (2005) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Nigerien Armed Forces (Forces Armees Nigeriennes, FAN): Army, National Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $544.6 million (2004) | $44.78 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2004) | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960) | Republic Day, 18 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; flooding | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land | uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum |
Net migration rate | 0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 105 km; gas 1,896 km; oil 3,638 km; refined products 3,626 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Don ETIEBET]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Chekwas OKORIE]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Dr. Ahmadu ALI]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Saleh JAMBO] | Democratic and Social Convention-Rahama or CDS-Rahama [Mahamane OUSMANE]; National Movement for a Developing Society-Nassara or MNSD-Nassara [Hama AMADOU]; Niger Social Democratic Party or PSDN; Nigerien Alliance for Democracy and Social Progress-Zaman Lahiya or ANDP-Zaman Lahiya [Moumouni DJERMAKOYE]; Nigerien Party for Autonomy or PNA-Alouma'a [Sanousi JACKOU]; Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS-Tarrayya [Issifou MAHAMADOU]; Nigerien Progressive Party or PPN-RDA [Abdoulaye DIORI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP-jama'a [Hamid ALGABID]; Social and Democratic Rally or RSD-Gaskiyya [Cheiffou AMADOU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force or NDPVF [Mujahid Dokubo ASARI]; Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC [Adams OSHIOMOLE] | Coalition Against a High Cost of Living [Nouhou ARZIKA] |
Population | 128,771,988
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 2005 est.) |
12,525,094 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | 63% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.37% (2005 est.) | 2.92% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) | AM 5, FM 6, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Railways | total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% | Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 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: country code - 234; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger
domestic: wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned international: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 853,100 (2003) | 24,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,149,500 (2003) | 299,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (2002) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling plains in south; hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 5.53 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 7.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | NA% |
Waterways | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2004) | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2005) |