Nigeria, one-third larger than Texas and the most populous country in Africa, is situated on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Its neighbors are Benin, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. The lower course of the Niger River flows south through the western part of the country into the Gulf of Guinea. Swamps and mangrove forests border the southern coast; inland are hardwood forests.
Country lead by President: Olusegun Obasanjo (1999)
Population
131,859,731 (growth rate: 2.4%); birth rate: 40.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 97.1/1000; life expectancy: 47.1; density per sq mi: 375
Land Area
351,649 sq mi (910,771 sq km); total area: 356,669 sq mi (923,768 sq km)
Monetary unit
Naira Language
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, and more than 200 others
Ethnicity More than 250 ethnic groups, including Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Ibo 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%
Religion Islam 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Transportation Railways: total: 3,557 km (2002). Highways: total: 194,394 km; paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways); unpaved: 134,326 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 8,575 km consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks. Ports and harbors: Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri. Airports: 70 (2002).
