country profile

Country name : conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria, conventional short form: Nigeria

Capital : Abuja

Location : Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon

GDP : Purchasing power parity - $110.8 billion (2003 est.)

Administrative divisions : 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, BayelsaBenue, 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.

Independence : 1 October 1960 (from UK)

National holiday : Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)

Languages : English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani

Religions : Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%

Climate : varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north

Population : 137,253,133

Currency : naira (NGN)

Government type : republic transitioning from military to civilian rule

Natural resources : natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc,
arable land.

Telephones - main lines in use : 702,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular : 1,607,900 (2002)

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

Radio broadcast stations : AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001

Television broadcast stations : 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002)

Internet country code : .ng

Internet hosts : 1,030 (2002)

Internet users : 420,000 (2002)

Political pressure groups and leaders : Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC [Adams OSHIOMOLE]

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, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC,
OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, WHO,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, WIPO,
UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WMO,WToO, WtrO

GDP-growth rate : real 3.4% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita : purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector : agriculture: 41.2%, industry: 15.7%, services: 43.1% (2002 est.)

Labor force : 66 million (1999 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.

Industrial production growth rate : 1.2% (2003 est.)

Exports : $21.8 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports – commodities : petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber

Exports – partners : US 33.2%, Spain 7.4%, Brazil 6.4%, Indonesia 6%, France 5.7%, India
4.8%, Japan 4% (2002).

Imports : $14.54 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports – commodities : machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food
and live animals.

Imports – partners : UK 9.5%, US 9.4%, China 9.3%, France 8.7%, Germany 6.5%, South
Korea 6.1%, Netherlands 5.2%, Italy 4.7%, Brazil 4.5% (2002)

Ports and harbors : Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri

Merchant marine: total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 327,808 GRT/608,076 DWT. Foreign-owned: Norway 2, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, United States 1 registered in other countries: 26 (2003 est.)
by type: cargo 7, chemical tanker 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 1, rollon/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1

Airports : 70 (2003 est.)