Nigeria Geography - 2004

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
water: 13,000 sq km
land: 910,768 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 - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
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, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 30.96%
permanent crops: 2.79%
other: 66.25% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
2,330 sq km (1998 est.)

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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements