Nigeria (2005) | Niue (2004) | |
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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 | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 70 (2004 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 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 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | 1.5 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 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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2004), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 40.65 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.78 billion
expenditures: $11.47 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
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 | Alofi |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 853 km | 64 km |
Constitution | new constitution adopted May 1999 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
Country name | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 17.18 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $30.55 billion (2004 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | IMF $250 million (1998) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 18.43 billion kWh (2002) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 30 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 19.85 billion kWh (2002) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 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 | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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
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% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | nairas per US dollar - 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58 (2002), 111.23 (2001), 101.7 (2000) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1620 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (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 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 47.5%, Brazil 10.7%, Spain 7.1% (2004) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 30.5% services: 33.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
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 | one of world's largest coral islands |
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.) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
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 | 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 (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | China 9.4%, US 8.4%, UK 7.8%, Netherlands 5.9%, France 5.4%, Germany 4.9%, Italy 4% (2004) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.8% (2004 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, small commercial ship construction and repair | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 16.5% (2004 est.) | 1% (1995) |
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 | ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 2,330 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
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) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 55.67 million (2004 est.) | NA (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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: 31.29%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 65.75% (2001) |
arable land: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 46.74 years
male: 46.21 years female: 47.29 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $544.6 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (National 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: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts; flooding | typhoons |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force or NDPVF [Mujahid Dokubo ASARI]; Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC [Adams OSHIOMOLE] | NA |
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.) |
2,156 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.37% (2005 est.) | 0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
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.) |
NA (2004 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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 853,100 (2003) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,149,500 (2003) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 5.53 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | NA (March 1999) |
Waterways | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2004) | - |