Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria

Government type:
federal republic

Capital:
name: Abuja
geographic coordinates: 9 05 N, 7 32 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory*, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara

Independence:
1 October 1960 (from the UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)

Constitution:
adopted 5 May 1999; effective 29 May 1999

Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Goodluck JONATHAN (since 5 May 2010, acting since 9 February 2010); Vice President Mohammed Namadi SAMBO (since 19 May 2010); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; JONATHAN assumed the presidency on 5 May 2010 following the death of President YAR'ADUA; JONATHAN was declared Acting President on 9 February 2010 by the National Assembly during the extended illness of the former president
head of government: President Goodluck JONATHAN (since 5 May 2010, acting since 9 February 2010); Vice President Mohammed Namadi SAMBO (since 19 May 2010)
cabinet: Federal Executive Council
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 16 April 2011 (next to be held in April 2015)
election results: Goodluck JONATHAN elected president; percent of vote - Goodluck JONATHAN 58.9%, Muhammadu BUHARI 32.0%, Nuhu RIBADU 5.4%, Ibrahim SHEKARAU 2.4%, other 1.3%

Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats, 3 from each state plus 1 from Abuja; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 9 April 2011 (next to be held in 2015); House of Representatives - last held on 9 April 2011 (next to be held in 2015)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDP 45, ACN 13, ANPP 7, CPC 5, other 4; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDP 123, ACN 47, CPC 30, ANPP 25, other 9; note - due to logistical problems elections in a number of constituencies were postponed

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges recommended by the National Judicial Council and appointed by the president); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government from a pool of judges recommended by the National Judicial Council)

Political parties and leaders:
Accord Party [Augustine MAZIE, acting]; Action Congress of Nigeria or ACN [Bisi AKANDE]; All Nigeria Peoples Party or ANPP [Ogbonnaya ONU]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Mojisoluwa AKINFENWA]; Conference of Nigerian Political Parities or CNPP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Congress for Progressive Change or CPC; Democratic Peoples Party or DPP [Jeremiah USENI]; Fresh Democratic Party [Chris OKOTIE]; Labor Party [Dan NWANYANWU]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Dr. Okwesilieze NWODO]; Peoples Progressive Alliance [Larry ESIN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Academic Staff Union for Universities or ASUU; Campaign for Democracy or CD; Civil Liberties Organization or CLO; Committee for the Defense of Human Rights or CDHR; Constitutional Right Project or CRP; Human Right Africa; National Association of Democratic Lawyers or NADL; National Association of Nigerian Students or NANS; Nigerian Bar Association or NBA; Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC; Nigerian Medical Association or NMA; the press; Universal Defenders of Democracy or UDD

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, D-8, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Adebowale Ibidapo ADEFUYE
chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400
FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Terence P. MCCULLEY
embassy: 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central District Area, Abuja
mailing address: P. O. Box 5760, Garki, Abuja
telephone: [234] (9) 461-4000
FAX: [234] (9) 461-4036

Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green; the color green represents the forests and abundant natural wealth of the country, white stands for peace and unity

National symbol(s):
eagle

National anthem:
name: "Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey"