Nigeria

Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
Geographc Coordinates:
10 00 N, 8 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km
water: 13,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of California
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