Nigeria

mean elevation:

380 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean; 2419 highest point: Chappal Waddi

• largest population of any African nation;
• significant population clusters are scattered throughout the country, with the highest density areas being in the south and southwest

• serious overpopulation and rapid urbanization have led to numerous environmental problems;
• urban air and water pollution;
• rapid deforestation;
• soil degradation;
• loss of arable land;
• oil pollution - water, air, and soil have suffered serious damage from oil spills

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Nigerian(s)

adjective:

Nigerian

0-14 years:

42.45% (male 44,087,799 /female 42,278,742)

15-24 years:

19.81% (male 20,452,045 /female 19,861,371)

25-54 years:

30.44% (male 31,031,253 /female 30,893,168)

55-64 years:

4.04% (male 4,017,658 /female 4,197,739)

65 years and over:

3.26% (male 3,138,206 /female 3,494,524) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

88.2 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

83 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

5.1 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

19.4 (2015 est.)

• largest population of any African nation;
• significant population clusters are scattered throughout the country, with the highest density areas being in the south and southwest

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.91 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total:

12.4% (2016 est.)

male:

NA (2016 est.)

female:

NA (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Federal Republic of Nigeria

conventional short form:

Nigeria

etymology:

named for the Niger River that flows through the west of the country to the Atlantic Ocean; from a native term "Ni Gir" meaning "River Gir"

name:

Abuja

geographic coordinates:

9 05 N, 7 32 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 5 May 1999, effective 29 May 1999 (2018)

amendments:

• proposed by the National Assembly;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses and approval by the Houses of Assembly of at least two-thirds of the states;
• amendments to constitutional articles on the creation of a new state, fundamental constitutional rights, or constitution-amending procedures requires at least four-fifths majority vote by both houses of the National Assembly and approval by the Houses of Assembly in at least two-thirds of the states;
• passage of amendments limited to the creation of a new state require at least two-thirds majority by the proposing National Assembly house and approval by the Houses of Assembly in two-thirds of the states;
• amended several times, last in 2018 (2018)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Nigeria

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

15 years

highest courts:

Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 15 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, a 23-member independent body of federal and state judicial officials;
• judge appointments confirmed by the Senate;
• judges serve until age 70

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeal;
• Federal High Court;
• High Court of the Federal Capital Territory;
• Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory;
• Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory;
• state court system similar in structure to federal system

chief of state:

President Maj. Gen. (ret.) Muhammadu BUHARI (since 29 May 2015); Vice President Oluyemi "Yemi" OSINBAJO (since 29 May 2015); note - the president is both chief of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces

head of government:

President Maj.Gen. (ret.) Muhammadu BUHARI (since 29 May 2015); Vice President Oluyemi "Yemi" OSINBAJO (since 29 May 2015)

cabinet:

Federal Executive Council appointed by the president but constrained constitutionally to include at least one member from each of the 36 states

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by qualified majority popular vote and at least 25% of the votes cast in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states;
• president elected for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 28-29 March 2015 (next to be held on 16 February 2019)

election results:

Muhammadu BUHARI elected president; percent of vote - Muhammadu BUHARI (APC) 54%, Goodluck JONATHAN (PDP) 45%, other 1%

• Accord Party or ACC [Mohammad Lawal MALADO]
• All Progressives Congress or APC [John Odigie OYEGUN]
• All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]
• Democratic Peoples Party or DPP [Biodun OGUNBIYI]
• Labor Party or LP [Alhai Abdulkadir ABDULSALAM]
• Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Ali Modu SHERIFF]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sylvanus Adiewere NSOFOR (since 29 November 2017)

chancery:

3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 516-4277

FAX:

[1] (202) 362-6541

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador W. Stuart SYMINGTON (since 1 December 2016)

embassy:

Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central District Area, Abuja

mailing address:

P. O. Box 5760, Garki, Abuja

telephone:

[234] (9) 461-4000

FAX:

[234] (9) 461-4036

consulate(s):

Lagos

• three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green;
• the color green represents the forests and abundant natural wealth of the country, white stands for peace and unity

name:

Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey

lyrics/music:

John A. ILECHUKWU, Eme Etim AKPAN, B.A. OGUNNAIKE, Sotu OMOIGUI and P.O. ADERIBIGBE/Benedict Elide ODIASE

note: adopted 1978; lyrics are a mixture of the five top entries in a national contest

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

• crude oil, coal, tin, columbite;
• rubber products, wood;
• hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel

agriculture:

70%

industry:

10%

services:

20% (1999 est.)

lowest 10%:

38.2% (2010 est.)

highest 10%:

38.2% (2010 est.)

general assessment:

further expansion and modernization of the fixed-line telephone network is needed; network quality remains a problem (2016)

domestic:

• fixed-line subscribership remains less than 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular services growing rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network;
• multiple cellular providers operate nationally with subscribership base over 80 per 100 persons (2016)

international:

• country code - 234;
• landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2016)

• nearly 70 federal government-controlled national and regional TV stations;
• all 36 states operate TV stations;
• several private TV stations operational;
• cable and satellite TV subscription services are available;
• network of federal government-controlled national, regional, and state radio stations;
• roughly 40 state government-owned radio stations typically carry their own programs except for news broadcasts;
• about 20 private radio stations;
• transmissions of international broadcasters are available (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

16 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 73 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

3,223,459 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

22,400,657 mt-km (2015)

total:

3,798 km (2014)

standard gauge:

293 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

narrow gauge:

3,505 km 1.067-m gauge (2014)

total:

193,200 km (2004)

paved:

28,980 km (2004)

unpaved:

164,220 km (2004)

total:

583 (2017)

by type:

general cargo 14, oil tanker 83, other 486 (2017)

major seaport(s):

Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Bonny Island

• the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea as high risk for piracy and armed robbery of ships;
• in 2017, 33 commercial vessels were boarded or attacked compared with 36 attacks in 2016;
• in 2017, 20 ships were boarded 16 of which were underway, seven were fired upon, and 65 crew members were abducted;
• nearly half of all reports of vessels being fired upon occur in Nigerian waters;
• Nigerian pirates have extended the range of their attacks to as far away as Cote d'Ivoire and as far as 170 nm offshore

Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phaseout of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issuesthe ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementationonly Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundarieslocation of Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint is unresolved

refugees (country of origin):

30,024 (Cameroon) (2018)

IDPs:

2,026,602 (northeast Nigeria; Boko Haram attacks and counterinsurgency efforts in northern Nigeria; communal violence between Christians and Muslims in the middle belt region, political violence; flooding; forced evictions; cattle rustling; competition for resources) (2018)

• a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets;
• consumer of amphetamines;
• safe haven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide;
• major money-laundering center;
• massive corruption and criminal activity;
• Nigeria has improved some anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in June 2006;
• Nigeria's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF