South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2007) | Nigeria (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
43.71% (male 27,842,225; female 27,514,197) 15-64 years: 53.47% (male 34,456,738; female 33,259,194) 65 years and over: 2.82% (male 1,780,862; female 1,782,410) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | - | 70 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of 11 islands |
total:
923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Background | The islands, which have large bird and seal populations, lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 - except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island. | Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999 and a peaceful transition to civilian government completed. The new 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. |
Birth rate | - | 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | - | Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now made the move to Abuja |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Coastline | NA km | 853 km |
Constitution | - | NA 1999 new constitution adopted |
Country name | conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none abbreviation: SGSSI |
conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria |
Currency | - | naira (NGN) |
Death rate | - | 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $32 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER embassy: 8 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (1) 261-0050, -0078 FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jibril AMINU chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York |
Disputes - international | Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula is currently before the ICJ; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon is currently before the ICJ |
Economic aid - recipient | - | ODA $250 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. | The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion loan from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Increases in foreign investment and oil production combined with high world oil prices should push growth over 4% in 2001-02. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 17.372 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 19 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 18.7 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
52.94% hydro: 47.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% |
Exchange rates | - | nairas per US dollar - 110.005 (January 2001), 101.697 (2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997), 21.884 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms; election last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2% |
Exports | - | $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
Exports - partners | - | US 36%, India 9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 6%, France 6%, (1999) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land) | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $117 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
40% industry: 40% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $950 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
194,394 km paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 134,326 km note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled; because of poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic - in part the result of the failure of the railroad system - much of the road system is barely usable (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
Illicit drugs | - | facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit route for cocaine from South America intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets |
Imports | - | $10.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | - | UK 11%, Germany 10%, US 9%, France 8%, China 6% (1999) |
Independence | - | 1 October 1960 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 1.5% (2000 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 |
Infant mortality rate | - | 73.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 6.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 11 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 9,570 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Provisional Ruling Council); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee) |
Labor force | - | 66 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2005) |
arable land:
33% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 44% forests and woodland: 12% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | - | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party - PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
51.07 years male: 51.07 years female: 51.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 357,372 GRT/636,254 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 24, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $360 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 10% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
29,940,922 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
17,201,367 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
1,375,112 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 1 October (1960) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
Natural hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km |
Political parties and leaders | - | All People's Party or APP [Alhaji Yusuf ALI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [contested between Yusuf MAMMAN and Alhasi Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Barnabas GEMADE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001 replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited |
126,635,626
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 45% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 2.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 82, FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998) |
Radios | - | 23.5 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
3,557 km narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway |
Religions | - | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | - | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
general assessment:
an inadequate system, further limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made domestic: intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities and the Internet are available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far East) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 26,700 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | 2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations were granted (1999) |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | - | 5.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 28% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |