INDEPTH: NIGERIA
Nigeria at a glance
CBC News Online | December 3, 2003
Country name: Federal Republic of Nigeria
Total area: 923,773 million sq. km
Population (2001): 116.9 million
Currency (average 2002): $1 US = 120.6 naira
Capital: Abuja, with 36 states
Chief of state: President Olusegun Obasanjo
Ruling party: People's Democratic Party
Government type: Republic
Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
Ethnic groups: 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%)
GDP: $40.9 billion US
Key exports: Crude oil, oil and cocoa. It's the sixth-largest oil exporter in the world accounting for 97 per cent of foreign earnings
Other industries: Coal, tin, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, cement, textiles, footwear, fertilizer, ceramics, steel
Canada/Nigeria bilateral trade (2002): $80.5 million Cdn in exports, $203.8 million in imports
Life expectancy (2002): 50.6 years
Infant mortality: 70 deaths for every 1,000 live births
Literacy (1995): Female: 47.3 per cent; Male: 67.3 per cent
History
Nigeria was a British colony from 1900 to 1914 and a protectorate until independence on October 1, 1960. Between 1960 and 1985, there were five coups, with a bloody war of secession by the eastern region from 1967 to 1970.
A presidential election in 1993 was annulled by the military and the victor, Moshood Abiola, was imprisoned.
General Sani Abacha took over and stayed in office until he died in 1998. He has been accused of stealing more the $4 billion from the country's coffers. Nigeria moved towards democracy with the 1999 election of a civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo was re-elected in April 2003.
Society
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups. It is divided largely into the Muslim north and the Christian south.
Its justice system is a combination of English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law.
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