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introduction to nigeria
NigeriaisthemostpopulouscountryinAfricaandtheeighthmostpopulo
uscountryinthe world.1 It is a member of the Commonwealth of
Nations and is also listed among the “NextEleven” economies.
Nigeria’s economy is the second largest economy in Africa and
one ofthe fastest growing in the world, with a growth rate of 9.0%
in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.2
Nigeria is one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, with
2.1 million barrels/day. Italso has enormous natural gas reserves,
vast agricultural lands, natural resources and adynamic private
sector. However, the country is heavily dependent on its crude oil
export,which accounts for over half of federal government
revenue and over 90% of exportearnings. Despite the large
economic role of oil, the agricultural sector is the biggestemployer
in the country, employing over two thirds of the population and
accounting for athird of Nigeria’s GDP.3
A country with longstanding history of ethnic and religious
tensions, Nigeria attainedindependence in 1960, following 19th
century British control and a series of constitutionsafter World
War II. After nearly 16 years of military rule, Nigeria adopted a
new constitutionin 1999, completing a peaceful transition to
civilian government. Having experiencedirregularities in previous
elections in 2003 and 2007, Nigeria is currently undergoing
itslongest period of civilian rule since independence.1 April 2007
marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the
country’s history.
Following independence, Nigeria’s government has continuously
faced the twin tasksof reforming a petroleum-based economy,
whose revenues have been
squanderedthroughcorruptionandmismanagement,andinstitutiona
lizingdemocracy.Recently,the government has instituted a
number of reforms to battle political instability, corruption,poor
infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management. Past ruling
governmentshave been overly reliant on the capital-intensive oil
sector, which provides 95% of foreignexchange earnings and
about 80% of budgetary revenues, causing attempts to reformand
diversify the economy to fail. The current ruling government has
attempted to rectifythissituationthroughaseriesofprivate-
publicpartnershipsonpublicgoods,suchasthe provision of
electricity and the building of roads.
Sponsored by:
agework@bc.edu
2
http://www.bc.edu/agingandwork
labor force highlights
As of 2007, about 66% of the Nigerian population was in the labor
force, and the àcountry’s population growth rate between 2005-
2010 is estimated at 2.3% per annum.4
Labor force participation in Nigeria for adult women was 38.7% in
2007, a rise from à38.1% in 2005 and 37.0% in 2000. For adult
men, labor force participation has been declining from 73.7% in
2000 to 71.7% in 2005, and then to 70.6% in 2007.4 The
“economically active population” comprises all persons of either
sex above the age of 14 who furnish the supply of labor for the
production of goods and services during a specified time
reference period.
The unemployment rate in Nigeria was at 4.9% according to the
2007 estimate
According to 1999 estimates, the Nigerian labor force by
occupation is 70% for àagriculture, 10% for industry, and 20%
for services.4
70.9% of men and 74.8% of women in the total civilian employed
labor force àreported being self-employed in 2005
36.5% of women and 65.7% of men are employed in Nigeria. This
is by far lower than Kenya, where 79.9% of men and 66.6% of
women are employed. South Africa has the lowest percent of its
population employed with 48.4% of men and 34.3% of women in
employment.
Source: UN (2009)6agework@bc.edu 3
Among selected GNI countries, Nigeria has one of the lowest rates
of employed women, as percent of the total population. Cambodia
has the highest percentage of its total population employed at
84.9% for men and 73.4% for women. Sudan has the lowest
percentage for women at 27.9%, and Tajikistan has the lowest for
men with 59.3%.
Source: UN (2009)6
Nigeria shows strong gender inequality amongst the regional
African countries, but there is a better margin when compared
against the Asian countries within the same GNI.
Source: UN (2009)6
Nigeria recorded its highest GDP growth in 2003 and 2004 with
10.3% and 10.6%, respectively, which was also the highest so far
for the region. Gambia had the lowest regional GDP growth in
2002 with -3.3%. With the recession, it is unlikely that Nigeria will
be able to reach over 10% again.
Though Nigeria has had the highest external debt through the
years with a peak in 2005 at 8.82 billion, the country’s GDP has
also risen since then from crude oil export.
Source: UN (2009)6 http://www.bc.edu/agingandwork 6
Nigeria’s External Debt
In August of 2000 Nigeria received a debt-restructuring
agreement from the Paris Club after signing a stand-by
agreement with the International Moneary Fund (IMF). In
conjunction with this agreement, the IMF also gave Nigeria $1
billion in credit, with both offers being contingent upon Nigeria
instituting economic reforms. Failure to meet the spending and
exchange rate targets as stipulated in the IMF program led to
Nigeria’s withdrawal in April 2002. This withdrawl further
exacerbated their economic problems by making the country
ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club.1 In a
bid to rectify the situation, the government instituted several
reforms such as privatizing the nation’s four oil refineries,
deregulating fuel prices and implementing the National Economic
Empowerment Development Strategy (a local program that was
modeled after the IMF’s Poverty eradication and Growth Facility
for fiscal and monetary management) in 2003. With the
implementation of these reforms, Nigeria successfully won a debt
relief deal from the Paris Club in 2005. This deal attempted to
eliminate the $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in
payments (a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria’s total $37
billion external debt), with the caveat that the country agree to
strict IMF reviews. Since 2008 the government has also instituted
various widespread market reforms at the urging of the IMF, such
as controlling inflation by blocking excessive wage demands,
modernizing the banking sector and resolving regional
disagreements over income distribution from the oil sector. The
country’s strong GDP increase in 2007 and 2008 was a result of
high global crude oil prices and increased oil exports.3
agework@bc.edu 7
demographic highlights
Nigeria still remains the most populous nation in Africa. In 2009,
the population of àNigeria was estimated at 149,229,090, with
Ghana at 23,887,812, and South Africa at 49,052,489.6
Nigeria is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups. The three
major ethnic groups àinclude: Hausa and Fulani (29%), Yoruba
(21%), and Igbo [Ibo] (18%).3
The total fertility rate for Nigerian women from 2005-2010 was
5.3 children per àwoman, according to Nigerian demographic
estimates.1 Total fertility rate indicates the average number of
children born to a woman during the reproductive span of her life.
The portion of the Nigerian population aged 65 and older
comprises 3.1% of the àtotal population. In comparison, Ghana
has 3.6% and South Africa has the highest in the region with 5.4%
of its population aged 65 and older.6
Nigeria had the lowest median age compared to Ghana and South
Africa for the year 2009.
Population
152,217,341
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the
distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2010 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 41.5% (male 31,624,050/female 30,242,637)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 42,240,641/female 40,566,672)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 2,211,840/female 2,343,250) (2010 est.)
Median age
total: 19.1 years
male: 19 years
female: 19.2 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate
1.966% (2010 est.)
Birth rate
36.07 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Death rate
16.31 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Urbanization
urban population: 48% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 3.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 92.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 98.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 86.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 47.24 years
male: 46.46 years
female: 48.08 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.82 children born/woman (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
3.1% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
2.6 million (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
170,000 (2007 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and
E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria and yellow fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: one of the most highly endemic areas
for Lassa fever
water contact disease: leptospirosis and shistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it
poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who
have close contact with birds (2009)
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.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary
education)
total: 9 years
male: 10 years
female: 8 years (2005)
Education expenditures
0.9% of GDP (1991)
Submit
Bottom of Form
Rank Country Total fertility rate (children born/woman)
1 Niger 7.75
2 Mali 7.29
3 Uganda 6.77
4 Afghanistan 6.53
5 Somalia 6.52
6 Burundi 6.33
7 Yemen 6.32
Congo, Democratic
9 6.2
Republic of the
10 Ethiopia 6.12
11 Angola 6.12
14 Liberia 5.79
15 Malawi 5.59
16 Oman 5.53
17 Mayotte 5.5
18 Benin 5.49
20 Chad 5.31
21 Rwanda 5.25
22 Guinea 5.2
23 Mozambique 5.18
24 Zambia 5.15
25 Madagascar 5.14
27 Djibouti 5.06
30 Senegal 4.95
31 Nigeria 4.91
32 Comoros 4.84
33 Togo 4.79
34 Eritrea 4.72
35 Gabon 4.65
36 Guinea-Bissau 4.65
37 Kenya 4.56
38 Sudan 4.48
39 Tanzania 4.46
40 Mauritania 4.45
41 Laos 4.41
42 Cameroon 4.33
43 Samoa 4.16
46 Kiribati 4.04
47 Iraq 3.86
49 Haiti 3.81
50 Paraguay 3.75
51 Zimbabwe 3.69
52 Ghana 3.68
54 Pakistan 3.6
57 Guatemala 3.47
58 Belize 3.36
61 Philippines 3.27
62 Honduras 3.27
63 Swaziland 3.24
65 Bolivia 3.17
66 Syria 3.12
67 Libya 3.08
69 Lesotho 3.06
70 Cambodia 3.04
71 El Salvador 3
72 Tajikistan 2.99
74 Malaysia 2.95
75 Tuvalu 2.91
Micronesia, Federated
76 2.89
States of
77 Nauru 2.85
79 Kuwait 2.76
80 Israel 2.75
81 Bangladesh 2.74
82 India 2.72
83 Namibia 2.69
84 Egypt 2.66
85 Fiji 2.65
86 Kyrgyzstan 2.65
87 Nepal 2.64
88 Botswana 2.6
89 Nicaragua 2.57
90 Guam 2.54
91 Panama 2.53
92 Morocco 2.51
93 Ecuador 2.51
94 Bahrain 2.5
95 Vanuatu 2.5
97 Venezuela 2.48
98 Colombia 2.46
99 Qatar 2.45
Northern Mariana
216 1.15
Islands