Nigeria

LOCATED IN WESTERN AFRICA on the border of the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and its economy is one of the weakest in the world. With 350 ethnic groups speaking 450 dialects, Nigeria has a long history of ethnic and religious tensions. This unrest, combined with government corruption and mismanagement, has been devastating for the people of Nigeria. Approximately 60 percent of the population live in poverty, and 70 percent live in rural areas away from the limited resources that are available to urban Nigerians. With an annual per-capita income of $1,000, 90.8 percent of Nigerians live on less than $2 a day and 70.2 percent subsist on less than $1 a day.

Unequal distribution of income is a major problem in Nigeria, with the poorest 20 percent sharing 1.6 percent of the nation's wealth, and the richest 20 percent claiming 50.6 percent. Nigeria is ranked 50.6 on the Gini Index of Human Inequality.

Although 70 percent of the labor force are engaged in subsistence agriculture, Nigeria is unable to feed its population of 128,771,988 and is forced to import food. Women provide 70 percent of the food that is grown in Nigeria, but they have traditionally been excluded from agricultural resources that would improve the quantity and quality of agricultural products. Crops in Nigeria are susceptible to droughts and flooding.

Nigeria's economic health is largely dependent on petroleum, which makes up 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product and 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings. In 1999, Nigeria adopted a new constitution and subsequently established a civilian government after some 16 years of military rule. The Nigerian government is rebuilding the oil industry after years of revenues lost to government misconduct.

Nigeria has the highest incidence of disease in the entire world, but only 27 physicians for every 100,000 people. Affordable lifesaving drugs are available to less than half the population. Some 38 percent are without access to safe water, and 36 percent lack access to improved sanitation. The Nigerian life expectancy of 46.74 years and the median age of 18.63 years reflect these problems. Some 42.4 percent of the population are under the age of 14 and 3.1 percent are 65 or over. Nigerians have a 34.9 percent chance of dying before the age of 40.

The high mortality rate in Nigeria is a result of many factors, and the 5.9 percent HIV/AIDS prevalence rate takes a major toll. In 2003 it was estimated that 3.6 million Nigerians were living with this disease, which had killed 310,000 people. Nigerians also have a very high risk of contracting food-and waterborne diseases, which include hepatitis A and typhoid fever. The Carter Center of Emory University, founded by former president Jimmy Carter, is heavily involved in programs [Page 774]in Nigeria to wipe out parasitic diseases such as Guinea worm disease, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, river blindness, and trachoma. Other preventable diseases that are common include malaria and Lassa fever.

Between 1970 and 2002, Nigerian infant mortality dropped slightly from 120 to 110 deaths out of 1,000 live births. That number dropped further to 98.8 deaths per 1,000 births in 2005. Between 1970 and 2002, mortality rates for children under 5 decreased from 201 to 183 per 1,000. The decrease was virtually wiped out the following year, however, when the rate was recorded at 198 per 1,000. Mortality is high in part because 29 percent of Nigerian children under the age of 5 are malnourished, and nine percent are classified as severely malnourished. About 38 percent suffer from moderate to severe stunting, and nine percent experience moderate to severe wasting.

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