Part 619

Economy - overview: The oil-rich Nigerian economy continues to be hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management. Nigeria's unpopular military rulers have failed to make significant progress in diversifying the economy away from overdependence on the capital intensive oil sector which provides half of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 80% of budgetary revenues. Regime officials also appear divided on how to redress fundamental economic imbalances that result in troublesome inflation and the discouragement of investors. The government's resistance to initiating greater transparency and accountability in managing the country's multibillion dollar oil earnings continues to limit economic growth and prevent an agreement with the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Agricultural production in 1996 suffered from severe shortages of fertilizer.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $143.5 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,380 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture : 28% industry: 53% services: 19% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 57% (1996 est.)

Labor force: total: 42.844 million by occupation: agriculture 54%, industry, commerce, and services 19%, government 15%

Unemployment rate: 28% (1992 est.)

Budget: revenues: $16.1 billion expenditures: $16 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1995 est.)

Industries: crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel

Industrial production growth rate: -1% (1995)

Electricity - capacity: 5.88 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 14.88 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 141 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber ; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; fishing and forest resources extensively exploited

Exports: total value : $11.6 billion (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber partners : US 52%, EU 34%

Imports: total value: $10 billion (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and animals partners : EU 50%, US 13%, Japan 7%

Debt - external: $34 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 naira (N) = 100 kobo

Exchange rates: naira (N) per US$1 - 21.886 (October 1996), 21.895 (1995), 21.996 (1994), 22.065 (1993), 17.298 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Nigeria:Communications

Telephones: 492,204 (1990 est.)

Telephone system: average system limited by poor maintenance; major expansion in progress domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and 20 domestic satellite earth stations carry intercity traffic international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 1 coaxial submarine cable

Radio broadcast stations: AM 35, FM 17, shortwave 0

Radios: 20 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 28