Nigeria Geography Profile 2009

Location

Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon

Geographic 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