The World Factbook (1982)/Nigeria

by the Central Intelligence Agency

NIGERIA

(See reference map VII)

LAND

924,630 km²; 24% arable (13% of total land area under cultivation), 35% forested, 41% desert, waste, urban, or other

Land boundaries: 4,034 km

WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 30 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)

Coastline: 853 km

PEOPLE

Population: 82,396,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.3%

Nationality: noun—Nigerian(s); adjective—Nigerian

Ethnic divisions: of the more than 250 tribal groups, the Hausa and Fulani of the north, the Yoruba of the south, and the Ibos of the east comprise 60% of the population; about 27,000 non-Africans

Religion: no exact figures on religious breakdown, but last census (1963) showed Nigeria to be 47% Muslim, 34% Christian, and 18% animist

Language: English official; Hausa, Yoruba, and Ibo also widely used

Literacy: est. 25%

Labor force: approx. 28-32 million (1979)

Organized labor: between 800,000 and 1 million wage earners, approx. 2.4% of total labor force, belong to some 70 unions

GOVERNMENT

Official name: Federal Republic of Nigeria

Type: federal republic since 1979

Capital: Lagos

Political subdivisions: 19 states, headed by elected governors

Legal system: based on English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; new constitution was promulgated for

restoration of civilian rule in October 1979; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October

Branches: a strong executive president, a bicameral National Assembly with a 95-seat Senate and a 449-seat House, and a separate judiciary

Government leader: President Alhaji Shehu SHAGARI

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: national elections held every four years (last held in 1979) to elect a federal president, federal Senate, federal House of Representatives, state governors, and state legislatures

Political parties and leaders: National Party of Nigeria (NPN), led by Shehu Shagari; Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), led by Obafemi Awolowo; Nigerian People's Party (NPP), led by Nnamdi Azikiwe; Great Nigerian People's Party (GNPP), led by Waziri Ibrahim; People's Redemption Party (PRP), led by Aminu Kano

Communists: the pro-Communist underground comprises a fraction of the small Nigerian left; leftist leaders are prominent in the country's central labor organization but have little influence on government

Member of: AFDB, APC, Commonwealth, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, Lake Chad Basin Commission, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

ECONOMY

GDP: $92.6 billion (1980 est., current prices), $1,087 per capita; 7.8% growth rate (1980 est.)

Agriculture: main crops—peanuts, cotton, cocoa, rubber, yams, cassava, sorghum, palm kernels, millet, corn, rice; livestock; almost self-sufficient

Fishing: catch 535,435 metric tons (1979); imports $14.5 million (1974)

Major industries: mining—crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, columbite; processing industries—oil palm, peanut, cotton, rubber, petroleum, wood, hides, skins; manufacturing industries—textiles, cement, building materials, food products, footwear, chemical, printing, ceramics

Electric power: 1,823,000 kW capacity (1980); 5.2 billion kWh produced (1980), 66 kWh per capita

Exports: $23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1980); oil (95%), cocoa, palm products, rubber, timber, tin

Imports: $15.9 billion (f.o.b., 1980); machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals

Major trade partners: UK, EC, US

Budget: (1980) revenues $22.1 billion, current expenditures $8.6 billion, development expenditures $16.7 billion

Monetary conversion rate: 1 Naira=US$1.8297 (1980)

Fiscal year: calendar year

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 3,505 km 1.067-meter gauge

Highways: 107,990 km total 30,019 km paved (mostly bituminous surface treatment); 25,411 km laterite, gravel, crushed stone, improved earth; 52,560 km unimproved

Inland waterways: 8,575 km consisting of Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks; additionally, Kainji Lake has several hundred miles of navigable lake routes

Pipelines: 1,918 km crude oil; 102 km natural gas; 3,000 km refined products

Ports: 5 major (Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Warri, Sapele), 10 minor

Civil air: 40 major transport aircraft

Airfields: 79 total, 75 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 19 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: above average system with major expansion in progress; radio relay and cable routes; 154,200 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 25 AM, 6 FM, and 26 TV stations; satellite station with Atlantic and Indian Ocean antennas, domestic satellite system with 18 stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable

DEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15-49, 17,450,000; 10,030,000 fit for military service; 860,000 reach military age (18) annually