Virgin Islands (2007) | Nigeria (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas | 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: 21.8% (male 11,897/female 11,696)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 34,204/female 37,911) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 5,642/female 7,098) (2007 est.) |
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 | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 70 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 1,910 sq km
land: 346 sq km water: 1,564 sq km |
total:
923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of California |
Background | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. | 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 | 13.68 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues:
$3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Charlotte Amalie
geographic coordinates: 18 21 N, 64 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Coastline | 188 km | 853 km |
Constitution | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 | NA 1999 new constitution adopted |
Country name | conventional long form: United States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies abbreviation: USVI |
conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria |
Currency | - | naira (NGN) |
Death rate | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $32 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | 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 (territory of the US) | 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 | none | 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 | $NA | ODA $250 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands hosted 2.6 million visitors in 2005. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are small but growing components of the economy. The islands are vulnerable to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, to support construction projects in the private sector, to expand tourist facilities, to reduce crime, and to protect the environment. | 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 | 926.4 million kWh (2005) | 17.372 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 19 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 996.1 million kWh (2005) | 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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 475 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Environment - current issues | lack of natural freshwater resources | 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 | black 76.2%, white 13.1%, Asian 1.1%, other 6.1%, mixed 3.5% (2000 census) | 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 - 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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor John DeJONGH (since 1 January 2007) cabinet: NA elections: under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as the Virgin Islands, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 and 21 November 2006 (next to be held November 2010) election results: John DeJONGH elected governor; percent of vote - John DeJONGH 57.3%, Kenneth MAPP 42.7% |
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 | NA bbl/day | $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
Exports - partners | US, Puerto Rico (2006) | US 36%, India 9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 6%, France 6%, (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $117 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 40% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $950 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 20 N, 64 50 W | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean | - |
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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | NA bbl/day | $10.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | US, Puerto Rico (2006) | UK 11%, Germany 10%, US 9%, France 8%, China 6% (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of the US) | 1 October 1960 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics | 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 | total: 7.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
73.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2003) | 6.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | IOC, UPU | 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 | NA | 9,570 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Superior Court of the Virgin Islands (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) | 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 | 43,980 (2004 est.) | 66 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 19% services: 80% (2003 est.) |
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: 5.71%
permanent crops: 2.86% other: 91.43% (2005) |
arable land:
33% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 44% forests and woodland: 12% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census) | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
Legal system | based on US laws | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 8, ICM 4, independent 3 note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2006 (next to be held November 2008) |
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: 79.2 years
male: 75.4 years female: 83.22 years (2007 est.) |
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: 90-95% est. male: NA% female: NA% (2005 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic 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 US | - |
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 | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) | Independence Day, 1 October (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Virgin Islander(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
noun:
Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
Natural hazards | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | sun, sand, sea, surf | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land |
Net migration rate | -8.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 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 | Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] | 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 | NA |
Population | 108,448 (July 2007 est.) | 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 | NA% (2002) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.171% (2007 est.) | 2.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2005) | 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 | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.017 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.902 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.795 male(s)/female total population: 0.912 male(s)/female (2007 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: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system with total digital switching, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: full range of services available international: country code - 1-340; 2 submarine cable connections (Taino Carib, Americas-1); satellite earth stations - NA |
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 | 71,700 (2005) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 80,300 (2005) | 26,700 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (2006) | 2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations were granted (1999) |
Terrain | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.2% (2004) | 28% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |