Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

Nigeria (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

Nigeria

REGION: West Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Abuja FCT
POPULATION: 128,709,000
LAND AREA: Twice the size of California

Strikingly, Nigeria has just 4 percent of the land area of Sub-Saharan Africa ― but 17 percent (about one-sixth) of the region's population. It is also Africa's most populous country. Thus, the health, economic status and other quality-of-life indicators of the Nigerian people have an enormous impact on the health, economy and quality of life of Africa as a whole. Further, with more than 250 ethnic groups, Nigeria is arguably the most culturally-diverse society in the world. The oil and natural gas sector accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings, and Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter. Despite the country's vast human and mineral resources, most individual Nigerians share the same level of underdevelopment as their African neighbors. About three-quarters of all Nigerians live in absolute poverty. And the U.N. Development Program's Human Development Index for 2007/2008 ranks Nigeria among the 20 least-developed countries in the world.

 

Country Stats

Life expectancy: 46.5 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 194/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [2.3 - 5.6]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 28 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 9% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 48% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 69.1% (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $1,128 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $752 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: 70.8% (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)

 

(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)