transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have
now made the move to 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 (National Day), 1 October (1960)
Constitution: new constitution adopted May 1999
Legal system: based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only
in some northern states), and traditional 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: for no more than two four-year terms; election last
held 27 February 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results:
Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO
(PDP) 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 March 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24
February 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: Senate -
percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party -
PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by
party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges appointed by the President);
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 [leader
NA]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's
Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS,
FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM,
OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Jibril AMINU consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York FAX: [1] (202)
775-1385 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 chancery: 1333 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20036
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Howard Franklin JETER embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address:
P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205
FAX: [234] (9) 523-0353
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side),
white, and green
Economy Nigeria
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 failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria,
once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the
signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a
debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from
the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. The agreement was allowed to
expire by the IMF in November 2001, however, and Nigeria appears unlikely
to receive substantial multilateral assistance in 2002. Nonetheless,
increases in foreign oil investment and oil production should push growth
over 4% in 2002.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $105.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 39% industry: 33% services:
28% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 45% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 50.6 (1996-97)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.9% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 66 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20%
(1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 28% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues: $3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
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: -0.3% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 15.9 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 64.15% hydro: 35.85%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 14.768 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 19 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum,
millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs;
timber; fish
Exports: $20.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa,
rubber
Exports - partners: US 46%, Spain 11%, India 6%, France 5%, Brazil (2000)
Imports: $13.7 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, chemicals, transport equipment,
manufactured goods, food and live animals
Imports - partners: UK 11%, US 9%, France 9%, Germany 7%, China (2000)
Debt - external: $32 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA $250 million (1998)
Currency: naira (NGN)
Currency code: NGN
Exchange rates: nairas per US dollar - 115 (January 2002), 101.697
(2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Nigeria
Telephones - main lines in use: 500,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 200,000 (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: 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 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001)
Radios: 23.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3 (the government controls 2 broadcasting
stations and 15 repeater stations) (2002)
Televisions: 6.9 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ng
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 11 (2000)
Internet users: 100,000 (1999)
Transportation Nigeria
Railways: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: the right-of-way have
seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to
restore Nigeria's railways is now underway (2001)
Highways: total: 193,200 km paved: 59,892 km (including 1,194 km of
expressways) 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 (2001) unpaved: 133,308 km
Waterways: 8,575 km note: 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: 43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 331,094
GRT/614,171 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: Bulgaria 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Togo
1, United States 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 7, chemical
tanker 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1
Airports: 70 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 35 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047
m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to
1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 18 (2001)
Heliports: 1 (2001)
Military Nigeria
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 30,808,598 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 17,698,911
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 1,375,112
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $374.9 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Nigeria
Disputes - international: Nigeria disputes several villages with Benin
along the Okpara River, and only 35 km of their common boundary are
demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Lake
Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing
armed clashes; oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes
between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center
around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on
Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the
Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Nigeria requests
and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation
in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents
Illicit drugs: a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for
European, East Asian, and North American markets; safehaven for Nigerian
narcotraffickers operating worldwide
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Netherlands
Introduction
Netherlands
Background: The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In
1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands
remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and
occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation,
the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The
country was a founding member of NATO and the EC, and participated in
the introduction of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999.
Geography Netherlands
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium
and Germany
Geographic coordinates: 52 30 N, 5 45 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 41,526 sq km water: 7,643 sq km land: 33,883 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Land boundaries: total: 1,027 km border countries: Belgium 450 km,
Germany 577 km
Coastline: 451 km
Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters
Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some
hills in southeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Zuidplaspolder -7 m highest point:
Vaalserberg 322 m
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, arable land
Land use: arable land: 27% permanent crops: 1% other: 72% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding
Environment - current issues: water pollution in the form of heavy
metals, organic compounds, and nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates;
air pollution from vehicles and refining activities; acid rain
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine
Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: located at mouths of three major European rivers
(Rhine, Maas or Meuse, and Schelde)
People Netherlands
Population: 16,067,754 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 1,502,687; female 1,437,141)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 5,548,188; female 5,362,412) 65 years and over:
13.8% (male 913,020; female 1,304,306) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.53% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 11.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 81.59 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.65 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.19% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Dutchman(men), Dutchwoman(women) adjective: Dutch
Ethnic groups: Dutch 83%, other 17% (of which 9% are non-western
origin mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians)
(1999 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%,
unaffiliated 40% (1998)
Languages: Dutch
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total
population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Government Netherlands
Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of the Netherlands
conventional short form: Netherlands local long form: Koninkrijk der
Nederlanden local short form: Nederland
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of government
Administrative divisions: 12 provinces (provincien, singular -
provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg,
Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland
Dependent areas: Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Independence: 1579 (from Spain); note - the northern provinces of the
Low Country concluded the Union of Utrecht, but it was 1648 before Spain
finally recognized their independence
National holiday: Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909
and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980),
30 April
Constitution: adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February
1983
Legal system: civil law system incorporating French penal theory;
constitution does not permit judicial review of acts of the States
General; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen BEATRIX (since 30 April 1980);
Heir Apparent WILLEM-ALEXANDER (born 27 April 1967), son of the monarch
head of government: Prime Minister Wim KOK (since 22 August 1994)
and Vice Prime Ministers Annemarie JORRITSMA (since 3 August 1998) and
Els BORST-EILERS (since 3 August 1998); note - Wim KOK and his cabinet
resigned 16 April 2002 after taking blame for the massacre of Bosnian
Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 while they were under the protection of
Dutch UN peacekeepers, but were asked to stay as a caretaker government
until a new administration was formed after elections on 15 May 2002
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections:
none; the monarchy is hereditary; following Second Chamber elections,
the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is
usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; vice prime ministers
appointed by the monarch note: there is also a Council of State composed
of the monarch, heir apparent, and councilors that provides consultations
to the prime minister on legislative and administrative policy
Legislative branch: bicameral States General or Staten Generaal consists
of the First Chamber or Eerste Kamer (75 seats; members indirectly
elected by the country's 12 provincial councils for four-year terms) and
the Second Chamber or Tweede Kamer (150 seats; members directly elected
by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: First Chamber -
last held 25 May 1999 (next to be held 15 May 2003); Second Chamber -
last held 15 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006) election results:
First Chamber - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CDA 20,
VVD 19, PvdA 15, D66 4, other 17; Second Chamber - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - Christian Democrats 43, List Pim Fortuyn
26, Labor Party 23, VVD 23, Green Party 11, Socialist Party 9, D66 7,
Christian Union 4, others 4
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Hoge Raad (justices are nominated
for life by the monarch)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA [Jan
Peter BALKENENDE]; Christian Union Party [M. VAN DAALEN]; Democrats 66
or D66 [Thom DE GRAAF]; Green Party [Otto Ter HAAR]; Labor Party or PvdA
[Adrianus MELKERT]; List Pim Fortuyn [leader NA]; People's Party for
Freedom and Democracy (Liberal) or VVD [Hans F. DIJKSTAL]; Socialist Party
[Jan MARIJNISSEN]; a host of minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: Federation of Netherlands Trade
Union Movement (comprising Socialist and Catholic trade unions) and a
Protestant trade union; Federation of Catholic and Protestant Employers
Associations; Interchurch Peace Council or IKV; large multinational firms;
the nondenominational Federation of Netherlands Enterprises
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group,
Benelux, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA,
ESCAP, EU, FAO, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNTSO, UNU, UPU,
WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Joris
M. VOS consulate(s): Boston consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston,
Los Angeles, New York FAX: [1] (202) 362-3430 telephone: [1] (202)
244-5300 chancery: 4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Clifford M. SOBEL embassy: Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ, The Hague mailing
address: PSC 71, Box 1000, APO AE 09715 telephone: [31] (70) 310-9209 FAX:
[31] (70) 361-4688 consulate(s) general: Amsterdam
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white,
and blue; similar to the flag of Luxembourg, which uses a lighter blue
and is longer
Economy Netherlands
Economy - overview: The Netherlands is a prosperous and open
economy depending heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for
stable industrial relations, moderate inflation, a sizable current
account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation
hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals,
petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized
agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but
provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for
exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began
circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues
to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct
investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001, as part of the
global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual
growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $25,800 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.3% industry: 26.3% services:
70.4% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 32.6 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 7.2 million (2000)
Labor force - by occupation: services 73%, industry 23%, agriculture 4%
(1998 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2.4% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $134 billion expenditures: $134 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries: agroindustries, metal and engineering products,
electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction,
microelectronics, fishing
Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (2001)
Electricity - production: 87.953 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 90.27% hydro: 0.16%
other: 5.33% (2000) nuclear: 4.24%
Electricity - consumption: 100.712 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 4.031 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 22.946 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits,
vegetables; livestock
Exports: $214 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels;
foodstuffs
Exports - partners: EU 78% (Germany 26%, Benelux 12%, France 12%,
UK 11%, Italy 6%), Central and Eastern Europe, US (2000)
Imports: $195 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals,
fuels; foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners: EU 56% (Germany 18%, Benelux 10%, UK 9%, France 6%),
US 10% (2000)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $3.5 billion (2000 est.)
Currency: euro (EUR); Netherlands guilder (NLG) note: on 1 January 1999,
the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to
be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002,
the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the
member countries
Currency code: EUR; NLG
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175
(2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Netherlands guilders per US dollar -
1.9837 (1998), 1.9513 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Netherlands
Telephones - main lines in use: 9,132,400 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,081,891 (April 1999)