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Oil
Share of global reserves: 3%
Share of global production (2003): 2.9%
Share of petroleum sector in the economy: Nigeria's economy is heavily dependent on the oil sector, which accounts for nearly 80% of government revenues, 90-95% of export revenues, and over 90% of foreign exchange earnings.
Demographics
Population: 137 million
Population growth rate: 2.45% (2004 est.)
GDP per capita: 900$ (2004 est.)
Government type: republic transitioning from military to civilian rule
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%
Literacy: 68%
Freedom House Ranking: partly free
Crime and political unrest:
Illegal fuel siphoning as a result of a thriving black market for fuel products has increased the number of oil pipeline explosions in recent years:
October 1998: Over 1,000 people died in an inferno which engulfed people scavenging for gasoline from a burst pipeline in southern Nigeria.
July 2000: At least 250 people were killed and 100 more were reported missing in a gasoline pipeline explosion near two villages in southern Nigeria.
December 2000: At least 60 of adults and children collecting gasoline from a gushing pipeline near Lagos were killed when the pooling liquid exploded into flames.
June 2003: At least 105 people died while scavenging oil when a spark ignited the ruptured pipeline pipeline,
which carried oil from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
Violent clashes between Christians and Muslims over the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law):
February 2000: More than 2000 homes, 123 churches and 55 mosques destroyed and more than 1,000 dead in riots.
May 2000: Over 200 people killed in religious riots.
September 2001: More than 160 people killed in three days of violence between Muslims and Christians in central Nigerian city of Jos.
November 2001: Religious riots in Northern Nigeria.
November 2002: Violent protests in Northern Nigeria left more than 200 people dead and more than 500 injured after an article about the Miss World pageant was seen as insulting to Muslims.
March 2003: A surge in ethnic conflict in the Nigerian delta has forced oil companies to shut down their operations. Dozens have been killed. Ethnic militants have threatened to blow up 11 multinational oil installations that they claimed to have captured in retaliation for government military raids.
August 2003: Street battles between rival ethnic militias in Nigeria's volatile southern oil port of Warri killed about 100 people and injured another 1,000.
November 20, 2003: Muslim rioters burn 13 churches in north Nigeria
April 2004: Seven people were killed in an attack on a boat sent by ChevronTexaco to assess whether to restart operations in swamp areas abandoned after communal violence last year.
September 2004: A rebel commander in Nigeria's oil rich delta region threatened to attack oil wells and pipelines unless the army halted an offensive there.
February 2006: The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which claims to be fighting for a greater local share of Nigeria's oil wealth, declared "total war" on foreign oil companies operating in the Delta and claimed responsibility for a series of raids, including one in which militants abducted nine foreign workers. The violence cut Nigeria's crude oil exports by 20 percent.
May 2006: Between 150 and 200 people were killed when a gasoline pipeline exploded, incinerating people as they were trying to drain fuel into cans.
December 2007: About 45 people have died in a fire at an oil pipeline after it was vandalised by looters near Lagos.
Additional information
West African Oil: Hope or Hype? by Dr. Cyril Widdershoven
Africa Drowns in a Pool of Oil
Terrorist Threats in Africa
Oil pipeline explosion kills 105 in Nigeria
Oil pipeline in Nigeria blown up by militants
A surge in ethnic conflict in the Nigerian delta has forced oil companies to shut down their operations
Islamic Extremism on the Rise in Nigeria
Transparency International Country Study
U.S. Dept. of Energy country analysis brief
MBendi Oil and Gas Industry profile
CIA World Factbook
Library of Congress
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