Northern Mariana Islands (2002) | Nigeria (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.4% (male 9,208; female 8,902)
15-64 years: 74.8% (male 27,041; female 30,781) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 690; female 689) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.4% (male 29,985,427; female 29,637,684)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 37,502,756; female 36,205,442) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 1,944,260; female 1,977,564) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 6 (2001) | 70 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
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.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Background | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. | 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. |
Birth rate | 20.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 38.24 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY 2001/02 est.) |
revenues: $8.026 billion
expenditures: $11.09 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Saipan | 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 |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Coastline | 1,482 km | 853 km |
Constitution | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 | new constitution adopted May 1999 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | naira (NGN) |
Death rate | 2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $31.07 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs | - |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Jibril Muhammad AMINU
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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 Bakasi Peninsula; 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; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Benin; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias |
Economic aid - recipient | extensive funding from US | IMF $250 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. | 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. The government has lacked 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, however, the government deregulated fuel prices and announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries. GDP growth probably will rise marginally in 2004, led by oil and natural gas exports. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 14.55 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 20 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 15.67 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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 |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean | 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% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | nairas per US dollar - 129.222 (2003), 120.578 (2002), 111.231 (2001), 101.697 (2000), 92.3381 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENEVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49% |
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% |
Exports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
Exports - partners | US | US 38.3%, India 9.9%, Brazil 6.8%, Spain 6.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending (2000 est.) |
purchasing power parity - $114.8 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 30.8%
industry: 43.8% services: 25.4% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 12 N, 145 45 E | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
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 | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | US, Japan | US 15.6%, UK 9.6%, Germany 7.3%, China 7.2%, Italy 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) | 1 October 1960 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts | 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 |
Infant mortality rate | 5.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 70.49 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 73.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (1997 est.) | 13.8% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,330 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court | 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) |
Labor force | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) | 54.36 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.22%
permanent crops: 6.52% other: 78.26% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 31.29%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 65.75% (2001) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
Legal system | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 4, Democratic Party 3, Reform Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 16, Democratic Party 1, Covenant Party 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (107 seats, 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 53.6%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 73, ANPP 28, AD 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 9.3%, other 8.8%; seats by party - PDP 213, ANPP 95, AD 31, other 7; note - two constituencies are not reported |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.95 years
male: 72.85 years female: 79.23 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 50.49 years
male: 50.35 years female: 50.63 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 327,808 GRT/608,076 DWT
by type: cargo 7, chemical tanker 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Norway 2, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, United States 1 registered in other countries: 26 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $469.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.9% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 32,665,407 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 18,763,229 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 1,452,231 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) | Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
Natural hazards | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) | periodic droughts; flooding |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land |
Net migration rate | 17.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.26 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 | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] | 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 [Audu OGBEH]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Saleh JAMBO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC [Adams OSHIOMOLE] |
Population | 77,311 (July 2002 est.) | 137,253,133
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 60% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.49% (2002 est.) | 2.45% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saipan, Tinian | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (1996) | 853,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,200 (1995) | 3,149,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002) |
Terrain | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.32 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2004) |