ceful 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.)