Nigeria:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Nigeria:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government continues to face the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Although both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history.

Location	Definition Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
Geographic coordinates	Definition 10 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references	Definition Africa
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries	Definition total: 4,047 km border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km
Coastline	Definition 853 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate	Definition varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
Terrain	Definition southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m
Natural resources	Definition natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 33.02% permanent crops: 3.14% other: 63.84% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 2,820 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 286.2 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 8.01 cu km/yr (21%/10%/69%) per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition periodic droughts; flooding
Environment - current issues	Definition 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	Definition 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	Definition 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

Nigeria: Geography

Nigeria:
Geography