Nigeria Business Guide

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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
country comparison to the world: 32
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km


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:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation


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:
natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land


Land use:
arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14%
other: 63.84% (2005)


Irrigated land:
2,820 sq km (2003)


Total renewable water resources:
286.2 cu km (2003)


Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 8.01 cu km/yr (21%/10%/69%)
per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)


Natural hazards:
periodic droughts; flooding


Environment - current issues:
soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; rapid urbanization


Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements


Geography - note:
the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea


People


Population:
149,229,090
country comparison to the world: 8
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 2009 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) (2009 est.)


Median age:
total: 19 years
male: 18.9 years
female: 19.1 years (2009 est.)


Population growth rate:
1.999% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59

Birth rate:
36.65 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30

Death rate:
16.56 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13

Net migration rate:
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92

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 (2009 est.)


Infant mortality rate:
total: 94.35 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 13
male: 100.38 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 87.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)


Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 46.94 years
country comparison to the world: 212
male: 46.16 years
female: 47.76 years (2009 est.)


    Total fertility rate:
4.91 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32

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: 8 years
male: 9 years
female: 7 years (2004)


Education expenditures:
0.9% of GDP (1991)
country comparison to the world: 180

Economy


Economy - overview:
Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, has undertaken several reforms over the past decade. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues. 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. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. Since 2008 the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal that eliminated $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. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. Based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices, GDP rose strongly in 2007 and 2008. President YAR'ADUA has pledged to continue the economic reforms of his predecessor with emphasis on infrastructure improvements. Infrastructure is the main impediment to growth. The government is working toward developing stronger public-private partnerships for electricity and roads.


GDP (purchasing power parity):
$336.2 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
$319.3 billion (2007 est.)
$300.1 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars


GDP (official exchange rate):
$207.1 billion (2008 est.)


GDP - real growth rate:
5.3% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
6.4% (2007 est.)
6.2% (2006 est.)


GDP - per capita (PPP):
$2,300 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 182
$2,200 (2007 est.)
$2,100 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars


GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 18.1%
industry: 50.8%
services: 31.1% (2008 est.)


Labor force:
51.04 million (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 70%
industry: 10%
services: 20% (1999 est.)


Unemployment rate:
4.9% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61

Population below poverty line:
70% (2007 est.)


Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32.4% (2004)


Distribution of family income - Gini index:
43.7 (2003)
country comparison to the world: 48
50.6 (1997)


Investment (gross fixed):
21.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88

Public debt:
13.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
20% of GDP (2004 est.)


Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.6% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167
5.4% (2007 est.)


Central bank discount rate:
9.75% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 46
9.5% (31 December 2007)


Commercial bank prime lending rate:
15.48% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 31
16.94% (31 December 2007)


Stock of money:
$35.29 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 25
$26.82 billion (31 December 2007)


Stock of quasi money:
$32.04 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 36
$22.78 billion (31 December 2007)


Stock of domestic credit:
$49.51 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 49
$35.68 billion (31 December 2007)


    Market value of publicly traded shares:
$49.8 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 51
$86.35 billion (31 December 2007)
$32.82 billion (31 December 2006)


Agriculture - products:
cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish


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, small commercial ship construction and repair


Industrial production growth rate:
2.8% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88

Electricity - production:
21.92 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69

Electricity - consumption:
19.21 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)


Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)


Oil - production:
2.169 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16

Oil - consumption:
286,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45

Oil - exports:
2.327 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8

Oil - imports:
170,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54

Oil - proved reserves:
36.22 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10

Natural gas - production:
32.82 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25

Natural gas - consumption:
12.28 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46

Natural gas - exports:
20.55 billion cu m (2008)
country comparison to the world: 11

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 147

Natural gas - proved reserves:
5.215 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7

Current account balance:
$3.877 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
$2.203 billion (2007 est.)


Exports:
$76.03 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
$61.82 billion (2007 est.)


Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber


Exports - partners:
US 41.4%, India 10.4%, Brazil 9.4%, Spain 7.2%, France 4.6% (2008)


Imports:
$46.3 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52
$38.8 billion (2007 est.)


Imports - commodities:
machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals


Imports - partners:
China 13.8%, Netherlands 9.6%, US 8.4%, UK 5.3%, South Korea 5.2%, France 4.3% (2008)


Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$53 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
$51.33 billion (31 December 2007 est.)


Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$68.84 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
$58.84 billion (31 December 2007 est.)


Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$13.02 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
$12.72 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Communications


Telephones - main lines in use:
1.308 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 69

Telephones - mobile cellular:
62.988 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 16

Telephone system:
general assessment: further expansion and modernization of the fixed-line telephone network is needed
domestic: the addition of a second fixed-line provider in 2002 resulted in faster growth but subscribership remains only about 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services growing rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network; multiple cellular service providers operate nationally with subscribership reaching 45 per 100 persons in 2008
international: country code - 234; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2008)


    Radio broadcast stations:
AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001)


Television broadcast stations:
3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2001)


Internet country code:
.ng


Internet hosts:
1,098 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 158

Internet users:
11 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 29

Transportation


Airports:
56 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 83

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 38
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2009)


Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 3 (2009)


Heliports:
3 (2009)


Pipelines:
condensate 21 km; gas 2,560 km; liquid petroleum gas 97 km; oil 3,396 km; refined products 4,090 km (2008)


Railways:
total: 3,505 km
country comparison to the world: 49
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge (2008)


    Roadways:
total: 193,200 km
country comparison to the world: 27
paved: 28,980 km
unpaved: 164,220 km (2004)


Waterways:
8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2008)
country comparison to the world: 15

Merchant marine:
total: 68
country comparison to the world: 62
by type: cargo 4, chemical tanker 12, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 46, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned: 3 (Japan 1, South Africa 1, Spain 1)
registered in other countries: 34 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 11, Cook Islands 1, Georgia 1, Italy 1, Liberia 2, Panama 10, Poland 1, Seychelles 1, Sierra Leone 1, unknown 3) (2008)


Ports and terminals:
Bonny Inshore Terminal, Calabar, Lagos


Transportation - note:
the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea as high risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; numerous commercial vessels have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crews have been robbed and stores or cargoes stolen

Doing Business in Nigeria 2010


           
 

 		 Nigeria

  Ease of doing business (rank)
125
 
 
Starting a business (rank)
108
 
 
Protecting investors (rank)
57
 
  Procedures (number)
8
 
  Extent of disclosure index (0-10)
5
 
  Time (days)
31
 
  Extent of director liability index (0-10)
7
 
  Cost (% of income per capita)
76.7
 
  Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10)
5
 
  Minimum capital (% of income per capita)
0.0
 
  Strength of investor protection index (0-10)
5.7
 
 
Dealing with Construction permits (rank)
162
 
 
Paying taxes (rank)
132
 
  Procedures (number)
18
 
  Payments (number per year)
35
 
  Time (days)
350
 
  Time (hours per year)
938
 
  Cost (% of income per capita)
573.4
 
  Profit tax (%)
21.8
 
   
 
 
  Labor tax and contributions (%)
9.7
 
  Employing workers (rank)
37
 
  Other taxes (%)
0.7
 
  Difficulty of hiring index (0-100)
0
 
  Total tax rate (% of profit)
32.2
 
  Rigidity of hours index (0-100)
0
 
   
 
 
  Difficulty of redundancy index (0-100)
20
 
  Trading across borders (rank)
146
 
  Rigidity of employment index (0-100)
7
 
  Documents to export (number)
10
 
  Redundancy cost (weeks of salary)
50
 
  Time to export (days)
25
 
   
 
 
  Cost to export (US$ per container)
1,263
 
  Registering property (rank)
178
 
  Documents to import (number)
9
 
  Procedures (number)
13
 
  Time to import (days)
41
 
  Time (days)
82
 
  Cost to import (US$ per container)
1,440
 
  Cost (% of property value)
20.9
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
  Enforcing contracts (rank)
94
 
  Getting credit (rank)
87
 
  Procedures (number)
39
 
  Strength of legal rights index (0-10)
8
 
  Time (days)
457
 
  Depth of credit information index (0-6)
0
 
  Cost (% of claim)
32.0
 
  Public registry coverage (% of adults)
0.0
 
   
 
 
  Private bureau coverage (% of adults)
0.0
 
  Closing a business (rank)
94
 
   
 
 
  Recovery rate (cents on the dollar)
28.0
 
   
 
 
  Time (years)
2.0
 
   
 
 
  Cost (% of estate)
22



Information provided by The World Bank Group

  

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