Consular Services

Fact Sheet on the Federal Republic of Nigeria

General
Federal Capital	Abuja
Other Cities	Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Onitsha, Enugu, Jos, and Maiduguri
Area	923,773 Sq.Kms
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, bounded by Benin on the west, Niger on the north, Chad on the north-east, Cameroon on the south-east.
Climate	Humid and tropical. Temperature varies between 28-36 degree C. Equatorial in south, tropical in centre and arid in north. Rainy season: May - October.
Population	125 million (2000 World Bank estimate), 40% urban, 60% rural
Population growth	2.8%
Local Time	(-) four and a half hours IST
Official Language	English
Other Languages	Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, Kanuri & Tiv
Major Religions	Christianity, Islam and Animism
Ethnic Groups	More than 250 ethnic groups. Principal groups are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Fulani. Others are Ibibio, Kanuri, Edo, Tiv, Ijaw, Idoma and Nupe
National Day	October 1, Independence Day (1960)
Political System
Government	Federal Republic A civilian government headed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo took over on May 29, 1999. President is elected by universal suffrage to serve a 4-year term. Three arms of the government are Executive, Legislature and Judiciary and three levels are Federal, State and Local.
Political Units	36 States and Federal Capital Territory of Abuja.
President & C-in-C	Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR
Foreign Minister	Alhaji Sule Lamido
Commerce Minister	Engr. Mustapha Bello
Industry Minister	Chief Kolawole Babalola Jamodu
Power and Steel Minister	Chief Segun Agagu
National Government	Federal Executive Council chaired by the President; appointed on June 30, 1999
Political Parties	Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), Alliance for Democracy (AD), and All Peoples' Party (APP)
Economy
Nature	Agriculture, minerals, oil and natural gas are the mainstay of economy. Semi-liberalised economy with increased participation of private sector
Structure(% of GDP)	Petroleum and gas (36.5%), agriculture (26.7%), livestock (6.1%), manufacturing (5.5%), trade (16.6%), finance and insurance (1.3%)
GDP	US$ 41.7 billion (2000)
Oil Revenue	US$ 12.66 billion (1999)
GDP per capita	US$ 395 (1999)
GDP growth	3.8% (2000)
Growth in Agricultural Sector	3.5% (1999)
Growth in Industrial Sector	1.5% (1999)
Current Account Balance	US$ 6.646 billion (2000)
Agricultural crops	Yam, cassava, maize, millet, cocoa beans, groundnut, palm oil & kernels, cotton, cashewnuts, tropical fruits
Mineral Resources	Petroleum, gas, limestone, marble, coal, tin, columbite
Industry	Food and drinks, petroleum, chemicals, automobiles, textiles, electrical equipment, building materials
Employment	47% services, 46% agriculture, 7% industry
Consumer Price Inflation	10.3% (1998), 6.7% (1999), 5.0% (2000) : :
Currency	Naira
Foreign Exchange	(US$ 1=Naira 110, Rs.1=Naira 2.3) (Feb 2001)
Foreign Reserves	US$ 5.5 billion (1999), US$ 7.5 billion (2000)
External debt	US$ 30.7 billion (2000)
Foreign Trade Exports (FOB)	:US$ 2.44 billion (1995),US$ 15.61 billion (1996), US$ 15.61 billion (1997), US$ 9.727 billion (1998), US$ 12.19 billion (1999), US$ 22.19 billion (2000)
Imports (FOB)	:US$ 1.36 billion (1995), US$ 6.433 billion(1996), US$ 8.2 billion (1997), US$ 9.822 billion (1998), US$ 9.87 billion (1999), US$ 10.69 billion (2000)
Principal Exports	:Crude petroleum, cocoa, rubber, palm kernels, urea-ammonia, textiles, cotton
Principal Imports	:Machinery & transport equipment, manufactured goods (mostly iron and steel, textiles and paper products), chemicals, food and live animals, and pharmaceuticals
Export Destinations	:USA (36.2%), India (8.6%), Spain (7.5%), , France (5.9%), Ghana (3.8%), Portugal (2.5%) (1999)
Import Origins	:UK (11%), Germany (10%), USA (9.5%), France (8.4%), China (5.8%), Netherlands (5%) (1999)