Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Benin and Cameroon

Map references: Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 923,770 sq km
land area: 910,770 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total 4,047 km, Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 30 nm

International disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; boundary commission, created with Cameroon to discuss unresolved land and maritime boundaries, has not yet convened, but a commission was formed January 1994 to study a flare-up of the dispute

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

Natural resources: petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, natural gas

Land use:
arable land: 31%
permanent crops: 3%
meadows and pastures: 23%
forest and woodland: 15%
other: 28%

Irrigated land: 8,650 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification; recent droughts in north severely affecting marginal agricultural activities
natural hazards: periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

NOTE: The information regarding Nigeria on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nigeria Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nigeria Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.