:Nigeria People
Population:
126,274,589 (July 1992), growth rate 3.0% (1992); note - a new population
figure of 88.5 million is in the process of being incorporated into revised
Census Bureau figures (April 1992)
Birth rate:
46 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
16 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
110 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
48 years male, 50 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Nigerian(s); adjective - Nigerian
Ethnic divisions:
more than 250 tribal groups; Hausa and Fulani of the north, Yoruba of the
southwest, and Ibos of the southeast make up 65% of the population; about
27,000 non-Africans
Religions:
Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Languages:
English (official); Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, and several other languages
also widely used
Literacy:
51% (male 62%, female 40%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
42,844,000; agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%,
government 15%; 49% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
3,520,000 wage earners belong to 42 recognized trade unions, which come
under a single national labor federation - the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC)
:Nigeria Government
Long-form name:
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Type:
military government since 31 December 1983
Capital:
Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially moved from
Lagos to Abuja; many government offices remain in Lagos pending completion
of facilities in Abuja
Administrative divisions:
30 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa
Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Imo,
Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo,
Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe
Independence:
1 October 1960 (from UK)
Constitution:
1 October 1979, amended 9 February 1984, revised 1989
Legal system:
based on English common law, Islamic law, and tribal law
National holiday:
Independence Day, 1 October (1960)
Executive branch:
president of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, Armed Forces Ruling Council,
National Council of State, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
National Assembly was dissolved after the military coup of 31 December 1983
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeal
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces Gen. Ibrahim BABANGIDA
(since 27 August 1985)
Political parties and leaders:
two political parties established by the government in 1989 - Social
Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC)
Suffrage:
universal at age 21
Elections:
President:
first presidential elections since the 31 December 1983 coup scheduled for
late 1992
National Assembly:
first elections since it was dissolved after the 31 December 1983 coup
scheduled for 4 July 1992
Communists:
the pro-Communist underground consists of a small fraction of the Nigerian
left; leftist leaders are prominent in the country's central labor
organization but have little influence on the government
Member of:
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Zubair Mahmud KAZAURE; Chancery at 2201 M Street NW, Washington,
DC 20037; telephone (202) 822-1500; there is a Nigerian Consulate General in
New York
:Nigeria Government
US:
Ambassador Lannon WALKER; Embassy at 2 Eleke Crescent, Lagos (mailing
address is P. O. Box 554, Lagos); telephone [234] (1) 610097; FAX [234] (1)
610257; there is a US Consulate General in Kaduna; note - the US Government
has requested Nigerian Government permission to open an Embassy Branch
Office in Abuja; the US Embassy will remain in Lagos until a later date,
when the Branch Office in Abuja will become the Embassy and the Embassy in
Lagos will become a Consulate General
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
:Nigeria Economy
Overview:
Although Nigeria is Africa's leading oil-producing country, it remains poor
with a $250 per capita GDP. In 1991 massive government spending, much of it
to help ensure a smooth transition to civilian rule, ballooned the budget
deficit and caused inflation and interest rates to rise. The lack of fiscal
discipline forced the IMF to declare Nigeria not in compliance with an
18-month standby facility started in January 1991. Lagos has set ambitious
targets for expanding oil production capacity and is offering foreign
companies more attractive investment incentives. Government efforts to
reduce Nigeria's dependence on oil exports and to sustain noninflationary
growth, however, have fallen short because of inadequate new investment
funds and endemic corruption. Living standards continue to deteriorate from
the higher level of the early 1980s oil boom.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $30 billion, per capita $250; real growth rate
5.2% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
40% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $10 billion; expenditures $10 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports:
$13.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
oil 95%, cocoa, rubber
partners:
EC 51%, US 32%
Imports:
$6.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
consumer goods, capital equipment, chemicals, raw materials
partners:
EC, US
External debt:
$32 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 7.2% (1990); accounts for 8.5% of GDP
Electricity:
4,740,000 kW capacity; 11,280 million kWh produced, 90 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
crude oil and mining - coal, tin, columbite; primary processing industries -
palm oil, peanut, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins; manufacturing
industries - textiles, cement, building materials, food products, footwear,
chemical, printing, ceramics, steel
Agriculture:
accounts for 32% of GDP and half of labor force; inefficient small-scale
farming dominates; once a large net exporter of food and now an importer;
cash crops - cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rubber; food crops - corn, rice,
sorghum, millet, cassava, yams; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats, pigs;
fishing and forestry resources extensively exploited
Illicit drugs:
illicit heroin and some cocaine trafficking; marijuana cultivation for
domestic consumption and export; major transit country for heroin en route
from southeast and southwest Asia via Africa to Western Europe and the US;
growing transit route for cocaine from South America via West Africa to
Western Europe and the US
:Nigeria Economy
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $705 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.0 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $2.2 billion
Currency:
naira (plural - naira); 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo
Exchange rates:
naira (N) per US$1 - 10.226 (February 1992), 9.909 (1991), 8.038 (1990),
7.3647 (1989), 4.5370 (1988), 4.0160 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year