Water Wars: Ethiopia and Kenya
Notable Entry, Interactive Narratives. 2008 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism.
Pulitzer Gateway: Water Wars
Visit the interactive Water Wars Web Portal, sponsored by the Pulitzer Center On Crisis Reporting.
Kibera: Not a Drop to Drink
The long rainy season in Kenya has begun and sudden storms regularly burst over Nairobi. Many welcome the downpours, which signal the end of another dry summer and wash the steamy crowded capital clean each morning.
As featured in Women's eNews, 1h2o.org, and Living on Earth. Produced in association with the Pulitzer Center On Crisis Reporting.
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Country Fact Sheets from the CLP
Because we believe that good journalism must be contextualized, we've decided to share with our readers some of the more interesting and lesser known facts about the countries we've reported on. While these are in no way comprehensive descriptions of these complex places, this is the information that we've found most helpful in placing these countries in a global framework and underscoring the broader implications of the issues we've covered. In developing these Fact Sheets, we've worked to incorporate both the official facts and statistics reported by government sources as well as our own observations through reporting in each country. If you have any suggestions or requests for information you'd like to see included, write to us at info@clpmag.org
Nigeria
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - 8th in the world - with a population of roughly 135 million. Nigeria gained its independence from the British in 1960 and was under military rule until 1999. Nigeria is ethnically diverse with over 250 distinct ethnic groups. It is one of Africa's leading exporters of petroleum and petroleum products and is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Its capital city is Abuja.
Size: Nigeria is about twice the size of California, and it borders the Gulf of Guinea, Benin, and Cameroon.
Population: 135,031,164 million (July 2007 estimate) with a population growth rate of 2.379% per year.
Languages Spoken: Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%.
Official Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani.
Type of Government: Federal Republic.
Religion: Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%.
HIV/AIDS: As of 2003, 5.4% of the population has HIV/AIDS
Environment and Resources: Nigeria's top resources are natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, and arable land. Nigeria's ecosystem is threatened by soil degradation, rapid deforestation, and desertification; Oil pollution is a big issue with lots of agricultural and natural resource damages and pollution stemming from oil spills.
GDP: $175.5 billion
International Aid Received: $1.87 billion (World Bank), $250 million (IMF).
Receives US Counterterrorism Assistance: Nigeria has assumed the leading counterterrorism role in West Africa.
Death Penalty: The death penalty is still on the statute books in Nigeria and the constitution established in 1999 does not prohibit application of the death penalty.
Top Five Industries: Petroleum and petroleum products make up 95% of Nigeria's exports, in addition to cocoa and rubber. The top five industries include Petroleum, Telecommunications, Textile/Printing, Construction Materials (Steel, Cement, etc), and Food Products (Agriculture).
Poverty Rate: Nigeria has the third highest number of poor people in the world, after China and India with a poverty rate of 34.1% as of 2002.
McDonald's Restaurants: None.
Military Spending: 1.5% of GDP (2006).
Human Trafficking Situation: According to the US Dept of Trafficking, "Nigeria is a source, transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Within Nigeria, women and girls are primarily trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation and boys for forced begging by religious teachers, forced street hawking, and labor exploitation in agriculture, mining, stone quarries, and as domestic labor. Internationally, women, girls, and boys are trafficked to Nigeria from other West and Central African countries and from Nigeria to neighboring countries for the same purposes listed above. Nigerian women and girls are also trafficked to North Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Europe, most notably Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Norway, and in small numbers to the United States, for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation."
Currency: 1 US dollar - 127.38 Naira (2006).
Media: As of 2001, Nigeria had 3 broadcasting stations with the government controlling 2 broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations).
Posted: 2007
Country Fact Sheet Sources
- General Statistics - CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
- Abortion Legal Status, Maternal Mortality, Infant Mortality, Contraception: http://www.medicationabortion.com
- Abortion Legal Status: http://www.crlp.org/pub_fac_abortion_laws.htm
- Contraceptive Use: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/contraceptive2005/WCU2005.htm
- Maternal Mortality: http://www.childinfo.org/areas/maternalmortality/countrydata.php
- McDonald’s Country List: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_McDonald%27s_franchises
- Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19388
- The Economist Intelligence Unit Quality of Life Index: http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
- Human Development Index: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index
- 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index: www.yale.edu/esi/
- General Statistics - World Atlas: http://www.geographyiq.com
- Counterterrorism Funding Information - State Dept. Country Reports: http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt
- Death Penalty Status: http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-countries-eng
- Human Trafficking information: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/
- BBC Country Profiles: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
- Department For International Development: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/countries/allcountries.asp?view=region
- United Nations Development Programme: http://www.undp.org/
- The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/
Note: Population growth projections are often controversial. To calculate them for these fact sheets, we simply used the current population and population growth rate provided by the CIA World Factbook.