Nigeria

• 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

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

0-14 years:

43.6% (male 29,322,774; female 28,990,702)

15-64 years:

53.6% (male 36,513,700; female 35,254,333)

65 years and over:

2.8% (male 1,890,043; female 1,910,151) (2003 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:

0.99 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Nigerian(s)

adjective:

Nigerian

• 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%

conventional long form:

Federal Republic of Nigeria

conventional short form:

Nigeria

• 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

• 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)

• Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR];
• All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Don ETIEBET];
• All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Chekwas OKORIE];
• National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI];
• Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH];
• Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA];
• Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE];
• United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Saleh JAMBO]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jibril Muhammad AMINU

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta and New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 775-1385

telephone:

[1] (202) 986-8400

chancery:

3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission:

Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER

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

lowest 10%:

1.6%

highest 10%:

40.8% (1996-97)

• cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber;
• cattle, sheep, goats, pigs;
• timber;
• fish

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)

total:

3,557 km

narrow gauge:

3,505 km 1.067-m gauge

standard gauge:

52 km 1.435-m gauge (2002)

total:

194,394 km

paved:

60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways)

unpaved:

134,326 km (1999 est.)

total:

44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 327,689 GRT/607,560 DWT

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo 1, US 1 (2002 est.)

ships by type:

bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical tanker 5, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1

• ICJ ruled in 2002 on the Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary by awarding the potentially petroleum-rich Bakassi Peninsula and offshore region to Cameroon;
• Nigeria rejected the cession of the peninsula but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to peaceably resolve the dispute and commence with demarcation in other less-contested sections of the boundary;
• several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Benin;
• Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias;
• Nigeria agreed to ratify the treaty and relinquish sovereignty of disputed lands to Cameroon by December 2003

• a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets;
• safehaven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide;
• major money-laundering center;
• massive corruption and criminal activity, along with unwillingness of the government to address the deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering regime make money laundering a major problem