Location:

Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon

Area:

total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km

Land boundaries:

total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

Climate:

varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north

Natural resources:

natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land

Land use:

arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14%
other: 63.84% (2005)

Population:

131,859,731
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 42.3% (male 28,089,017/female 27,665,212)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 36,644,885/female 35,405,915)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,930,007/female 2,124,695) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 18.7 years
male: 18.7 years
female: 18.6 years (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

40.43 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

16.94 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 97.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 104.05 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 90.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 47.08 years
male: 46.52 years
female: 47.66 years (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

3.6 million (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: one of the most highly endemic areas for Lassa fever

Nationality:

noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian

Ethnic groups:

Nigeria, 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%

Religions:

Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%

Languages:

English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68%
male: 75.7%
female: 60.6% (2003 est.)