General overview of the country.

1. Nigeria
Facts and figures

2. General info
Officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Where on Earth? In West Africa, its coast in the
South lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic
Ocean.
It is often referred to as the "Giant of Africa",
owing to its large population and economy.
Neighbors: Benin in the west, Chad and
Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north.

3. History
 In the 16th c., Spanish and Portuguese explorers were the first to trade
with peoples of modern-day Nigeria, at the port they named Lagos. It
marked the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade.
 The UK outlawed the international slave trade in 1807 and military
intervened in Lagos to halt the slave trade in the region. That was the
beginning of the spread of the Anglican Church in Nigeria.
 In 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate and part of the British
Empire up until 1960, when the country achieved independence from
the UK.
 There was a Civil War between 1967-1970 that caused millions of dead
people mainly in the region of Biafra.
 1970-1999 was a period of military juntas characterized by coup
d’états and military dictatorships.
 From 1999 onwards the country has experienced a process of
democratization. 2015 elections are the first fair elections in Nigeria.

4. Politics
 It is a Federal Republic modelled after the United
States, with executive power exercised by the
president.
 Muhammadu Buhari has been elected President of
Nigeria in 2015 elections. A former military dictator,
he now claims he is a “converted democrat”.
 According to the HDI, Nigeria has a low level of
human development.
 Political freedom has increased since 1999 and 2015
elections marked the first time in the history of
Nigeria that an incumbent president (Goodluck
Jonathan) peacefully lost to an opposition
candidate.

5. Demographics
 2015 population is an estimated 182 million (it is the most
populous country in Africa).
 Capital city is Abuja, but the largest and most important
city in the country is Lagos (16 million inhabitants).
 Nigeria also has one of the largest populations of youth in
the world.
 Official language is English, with other major languages
such as Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
 Christianity is the religion of 58% of the population,
whereas 41% of the population are Muslims. Islam has
spread mainly in the North of the country, which has
added up to the traditional imbalance between a rich
South and a poor North. Boko Haram, Islamist terrorists,
are the most important threat to the country’s stability.

6. Internal conflicts

7. Economy
 Nigeria’s currency is the Naira (1USD=199NGN)
 Estimated GDP $657.22 billion in 2015, it represents 35% of the
GDP of the entire Sub-Saharan region.
 Nigeria became the largest African economy in 2014. It has
enjoyed a decade of continuously strong economic growth
(6.8% per year on average).
 The economy is based on crude petroleum exports.
 Nigeria’s priority is to restore security
(getting rid of Boko Haram) and diversify
the economy in order to break the country's
dependence on oil revenues.

8. Debt and IMF
 Nigeria’s external debt is $68 billion, only 5% of the
country’s GDP. Previously hindered by years of
mismanagement, economic reforms of the past decade
have put Nigeria back on track.
 Nigeria and the IMF approved loans in 1989, 1991 and
2000, but the money wasn’t finally drawn.
 In 2006, Nigeria became the first African country to fully
pay off its debt owed to the Paris club (creditor countries
which provide an appropriate debt treatment as debtor
countries undertake reforms to stabilize their economies).
 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance, has released
several statements for the IMF. The IMF included Nigeria in
the MINT group. According to the Fund Nigeria’s
economy is set to become among the biggest in the
world.