Pacific Ocean (2008) | Nigeria (2007) | |
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 |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 42.2% (male 28,726,380/female 28,301,729)
15-64 years: 54.7% (male 37,543,678/female 36,277,038) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,987,521/female 2,194,818) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | - | 70 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 36
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
Area | total: 155.557 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Background | The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government faces the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the defusing longstanding ethnic and religious tensions are a priority if Nigeria is to build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability. Although the April 2003 elections were marred by some irregularities, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. General elections in April 2007 were considered significantly flawed by Nigerian and international observers but they marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history. President Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA took office on 29 May 2007. |
Birth rate | - | 40.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $17.5 billion
expenditures: $18.67 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Abuja
geographic coordinates: 9 12 N, 7 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Coastline | 135,663 km | 853 km |
Constitution | - | new constitution adopted 5 May 1999; effective 29 May 1999 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
Death rate | - | 16.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $6.575 billion (2006 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 |
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, New York |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues; 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 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; 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 | - | $6.437 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. | Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its 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. In 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. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt - relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments - a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria's total $37 billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2006, based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 16.88 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 22.53 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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% |
Exchange rates | - | nairas per US dollar - 127.38 (2006), 132.59 (2005), 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58 (2002) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: President Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA (since 29 May 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA (since 29 May 2007) cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011) election results: Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA elected president; percent of vote - official results not yet posted as of September 2007 |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
Exports - partners | - | US 48.9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 7.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 17.3%
industry: 54.3% services: 28.4% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 5.3% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 160 00 W | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern 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 | - | 2 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 33.2% (2003) |
Illicit drugs | - | a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets; consumer of amphetamines; safe haven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity; Nigeria has improved some anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in June 2006; Nigeria's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | - | China 10.7%, US 8.4%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.8%, France 5.6%, Brazil 5.1%, Germany 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | - | 1 October 1960 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | -1.6% (2006 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 |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 95.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 102.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 88.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 8.2% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | - | 2,820 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) |
Labor force | - | 49.62 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 70%
industry: 10% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | - | total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14% other: 63.84% (2005) |
Languages | - | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
Legal system | - | based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats, 3 from each state plus 1 from Abuja; 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 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011); House of Representatives - last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - official results not yet posted as of May 2007; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - official results not yet posted as of May 2007 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 47.44 years
male: 46.83 years female: 48.07 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Africa |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 55 ships (1000 GRT or over) 284,400 GRT/483,316 DWT
by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 8, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 37, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 1, Singapore 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 23 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 11, Cambodia 2, Panama 6, Poland 1, Seychelles 1, unknown 2) (2007) |
Military branches | - | Nigerian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2006) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960) |
Nationality | - | noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
Natural hazards | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December | periodic droughts; flooding |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish | natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 126 km; gas 2,812 km; liquid petroleum gas 125 km; oil 4,278 km; refined products 3,517 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Action Congress or AC [Bisi AKANDE]; Advanced Congress of Democrats or ACD [Alex ANIELO]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Mojisoluwa AKINFENWA]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Alh Modu SHERIF]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]; Democratic People's Party or DPP [Umara AHMED]; Fresh Democratic Party [Chris OKOTIE]; Movement for the Restoration and Defense of Democracy or MRDD [Mohammed Gambo JIMETA]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Olusegun OBASANJO]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [disputed leadership] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | - | 135,031,164
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 60% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 2.379% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 3,505 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | - | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.015 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.906 male(s)/female total population: 1.022 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: expansion and modernization of the fixed-line telephone network has been slow due to faltering efforts at privatization
domestic: the addition of a second fixed-line provider in 2002 resulted in faster growth of this service; wireless telephony has grown rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network; 4 wireless (GSM) service providers operate nationally; the combined growth resulted in a sharp increase in teledensity reported to be over 18% in March 2006 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 | - | 1.688 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 32.322 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2001) |
Terrain | surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | - | 5.45 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Transportation - note | Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2007) |