countries, with low per capita income, flagging socio-economic
indicators, and huge external debt. The country has made significant
progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years -
even with the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch in the fall of 1998.
International aid, debt relief, and continued foreign investment have
contributed to the stabilization process. GDP grew 6.3% in 1999, while
inflation remained about 12%, and unemployment dropped. Nicaragua may
qualify for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative,
though aid is conditioned on improving governability, the openness of
government financial operations, poverty alleviation, and human
rights.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.5 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.3% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,650 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 34%
industry: 22%
services: 44% (1998)
Population below poverty line: 50% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 39.8% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 1.7 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry
15% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10.5% (1999 est.); considerable underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $527 million
expenditures: $617 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1998 est.)
Industries: food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products,
textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages,
footwear, wood
Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (1998 est.)
Electricity - production: 2.714 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 53.43%
hydro: 35.34%
nuclear: 0%
other: 11.23% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 2.52 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 99 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 95 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice,
corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy
products
Exports: $573 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports - commodities: coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco,
beef, sugar, bananas; gold
Exports - partners: US 35%, Germany 13%, El Salvador 10%, Spain 4%,
Costa Rica 4%, France 2% (1998)
Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, raw materials,
petroleum products, consumer goods
Imports - partners: US 31%, Costa Rica 11%, Guatemala 8%, Venezuela
6%, El Salvador 5%, Mexico 4% (1998)
Debt - external: $5.7 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: pledges of $1.4 billion in new aid in 1999
Currency: 1 gold cordoba (C$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: gold cordobas (C$) per US$1 - 12.29 (December
1999),11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996), 7.55
(1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Nicaragua:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 140,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,400 (1995)
Telephone system: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system
being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System
domestic: wire and microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic
Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 1.24 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters)
(1997)
Televisions: 320,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (1999)
@Nicaragua:Transportation
Highways:
total: 16,382 km
paved: 1,818 km
unpaved: 14,564 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 2,220 km, including 2 large lakes
Pipelines: crude oil 56 km
Ports and harbors: Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas,
Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur
Merchant marine: none (1999 est.)
Airports: 182 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 3 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 171
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 144 (1999 est.)
@Nicaragua:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,229,103 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 755,002 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 57,125 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $26 million (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY98)
@Nicaragua:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: territorial disputes with Colombia over the
Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with
respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the
ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua
Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution
among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required;
maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and
transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
______________________________________________________________________
NIGERIA
@Nigeria:Introduction
Background: Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new
constitution was adopted in 1999 and a peaceful transition to civilian
government completed. The new president faces the daunting task of
rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been
squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and
institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the OBASANJO administration
must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions, if it is to
build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability.
@Nigeria:Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin
and Cameroon
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger
1,497 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in
north
Terrain: southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus;
mountains in southeast, plains in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Natural resources: petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal,
limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas, hydropower, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 33%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures: 44%
forests and woodland: 12%
other: 8% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 9,570 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: soil degradation; rapid deforestation;
desertification; recent droughts in north severely affecting marginal
agricultural activities
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
@Nigeria:People
Population: 123,337,822
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 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 27,181,020; female 26,872,317)
15-64 years: 53% (male 33,495,794; female 32,337,193)
65 years and over: 3% (male 1,729,149; female 1,722,349) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.67% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 40.16 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 13.72 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 74.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 51.56 years
male: 51.58 years
female: 51.55 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.66 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian
Ethnic groups: Nigeria, which is 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: 57.1%
male: 67.3%
female: 47.3% (1995 est.)
@Nigeria:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria
Data code: NI
Government type: republic transitioning from military to civilian rule
Capital: Abuja
note: on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially moved from Lagos
to Abuja; many government offices remain in Lagos pending completion
of facilities in Abuja
Administrative divisions: 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja
Federal Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi,
Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu,
Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos,
Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto,
Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara
Independence: 1 October 1960 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1960)
Constitution: NA 1999 new constitution adopted
Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic law, and tribal law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999);
note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Federal Executive Council
elections: president is elected by popular vote for no more than two
four-year terms; election last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held
NA 2003)
election results: Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) elected president; percent
of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate
(109 seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital
Territory; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
and House of Representatives (360 seats, members elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA
2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next
to be held NA 2003)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP
23%, AD 19%; seats by party - PDP 65, APP 24, AD 20; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%;
seats by party - PDP 215, APP 75, AD 70
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the Provisional
Ruling Council; Federal Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the
federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee
Political parties and leaders: All People's Party or APP [Alhaji Yusuf
ALI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD ; People's Democratic
Party or PDP
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA,
ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNU, UPU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jibril AMINU
chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: (202) 986-8400
FAX: (202) 775-1385
consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William H. TWADDELL
embassy: 2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Lagos
mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos
telephone: (1) 261-0097
FAX: (1) 261-0257
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
white, and green
@Nigeria:Economy
Economy - overview: The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by
political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management,
is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian
administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify
the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil
sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings,
and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence
agricultural sector has not kept up with rapid population growth, and
Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. In
2000, Nigeria is likely to receive a debt-restructuring deal with the
Paris club and a $1 billion loan from the IMF, both contingent on
economic reforms. Increased foreign investment combined with high
world oil prices should push growth to over 5% in 2000-01.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $110.5 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.7% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $970 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 33%
industry: 42%
services: 25% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 34.1% (1992-93 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 31.4% (1992-93)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.5% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 42.844 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 54%, industry 6%, services
40% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts,
cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other
construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals,
fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 14.75 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 61.69%
hydro: 38.31%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 13.717 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum,
millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs;
timber; fish
Exports: $13.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa,
rubber
Exports - partners: US 35%, Spain 11%, India 9%, France 6%, Italy
(1998 est.)
Imports: $10 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Imports - commodities: machinery, chemicals, transport equipment,
manufactured goods, food and live animals
Imports - partners: UK 13%, US 12%, Germany 10%, France 9%,
Netherlands (1998 est.)
Debt - external: $29 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $39.2 million (1995)
Currency: 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo
Exchange rates: nairas (N) per US$1 - 96.261 (October 1999), 99
(1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997), 21.895 (1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Nigeria:Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 405,000 (1995)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 10,000 (1999)
Telephone system: an inadequate system, further limited by poor
maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made
domestic: intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave
radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth
stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities
and the Internet are available
international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean
and 1 Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far
East)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 82, FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998)
Radios: 23.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 government-controlled; note - in
addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations
were granted (1999)
Televisions: 6.9 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (1999)
@Nigeria:Transportation
Railways:
total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge
note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way
have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a
project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway
Highways:
total: 194,394 km
paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways)
unpaved: 134,326 km (1998 est.)
note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled; because of
poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic (in part the
result of the failure of the railroad system), much of the road system
is barely usable
Waterways: 8,575 km consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and
smaller rivers and creeks
Pipelines: crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural
gas 500 km
Ports and harbors: Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri
Merchant marine:
total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 360,505 GRT/644,471 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 12, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker
22, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)
Airports: 71 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 37
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 2 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 18 (1999 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)
@Nigeria:Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 29,082,802 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 16,708,344 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 1,360,023 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $236 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.7% (FY99)
@Nigeria:Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: delimitation of international boundaries in
the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents
in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon,
Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime
boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula is currently before the ICJ;
maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed
jurisdiction over oil-rich areas in the Gulf of Guinea
Illicit drugs: facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast
and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a
transit route for cocaine from South America intended for European,
East Asian, and North American markets
______________________________________________________________________
NIGER
@Niger:Introduction
Background: Not until 1993, 33 years after independence from France,
did Niger hold its first free and open elections. A 1995 peace accord
ended a five-year Tuareg insurgency in the north. Coups in 1996 and
1999 were followed by the creation of a National Reconciliation
Council that effected a transition to civilian rule in December 1999.
@Niger:Geography
Location: Western Africa, southeast of Algeria
Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 1.267 million sq km
land: 1,266,700 sq km
water: 300 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 5,697 km
border countries: Algeria 956 km, Benin 266 km, Burkina Faso 628 km,
Chad 1,175 km, Libya 354 km, Mali 821 km, Nigeria 1,497 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: desert; mostly hot, dry, dusty; tropical in extreme south
Terrain: predominately desert plains and sand dunes; flat to rolling
plains in south; hills in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Niger River 200 m
highest point: Mont Greboun 1,944 m
Natural resources: uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold,
petroleum
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 7%
forests and woodland: 2%
other: 88% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 660 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: recurring droughts
Environment - current issues: overgrazing; soil erosion;
deforestation; desertification; wildlife populations (such as
elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion) threatened because of
poaching and habitat destruction
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the
Sea
Geography - note: landlocked
@Niger:People
Population: 10,075,511 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (male 2,461,391; female 2,373,617)
15-64 years: 50% (male 2,445,369; female 2,563,839)
65 years and over: 2% (male 121,570; female 109,725) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.75% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 51.45 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 23.17 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 124.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 41.27 years
male: 41.43 years
female: 41.11 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.16 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Nigerien(s)
adjective: Nigerien
Ethnic groups: Hausa 56%, Djerma 22%, Fula 8.5%, Tuareg 8%, Beri Beri
(Kanouri) 4.3%, Arab, Toubou, and Gourmantche 1.2%, about 1,200 French
expatriates
Religions: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christians
Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 13.6%
male: 20.9%
female: 6.6% (1995 est.)
@Niger:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Niger
conventional short form: Niger
local long form: Republique du Niger
local short form: Niger
Data code: NG
Government type: republic
Capital: Niamey
Administrative divisions: 7 departments (departements, singular -
departement), and 1 capital district* (capitale district); Agadez,
Diffa, Dosso, Maradi, Niamey*, Tahoua, Tillaberi, Zinder
Independence: 3 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Republic Day, 18 December (1958)
Constitution: the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national
referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999
Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal