Nigerian economic growth primarily comes from the country's oil sector.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence from the United Kingdom in 1960. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has ruled since his election in 1999. Prior to Obasanjo. s election, the country had not held successful elections under a civilian government since independence. The Obasanjo administration has made it a priority to reform the Nigerian economy, which includes privatizing state-owned entities.

High oil prices were the driving force behind Nigeria. s economic growth in 2005. The country. s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew approximately 4.5 percent in 2005 and is expected to grow 6.2 percent in 2006. The Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on the oil sector, which accounts for 95 percent of government revenues. Even with the substantial oil wealth, Nigeria ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, with a $1,000 per capita income and more than 70 percent of the population living in poverty. In October 2005, the 15-member Paris Club announced that it would cancel 60 percent of the debt owed by Nigeria. However, Nigeria must still pay $12.4 billion in arrears amongst meeting other conditions. In March 2006, phase two of the Paris Club agreement will include an additional 34 percent debt cancellation, while Nigeria will be responsible for paying back any remaining eligible debts to the lending nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently praised the Nigerian government for adopting tighter fiscal policies, will be allowed to monitor Nigeria without having to disburse loans to the country.

Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In the last year the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. GDP rose strongly in 2005, based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a historic debt-relief deal that by March 2006 should eliminate $30 billion worth of Nigeria's total $37 billion external debt. The deal first requires that Nigeria repay roughly $12 billion in arrears to its bilateral creditors. Nigeria would then be allowed to buy back its remaining debt stock at a discount. The deal also commits Nigeria to more intensified IMF reviews.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $132.9 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $76.46 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.6% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 26.8%
industry: 48.8%
services: 24.4% (2005 est.)

Labor force: 57.21 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.9% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line: 60% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 50.6 (1996-97)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.6% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 23.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $12.86 billion
expenditures: $13.54 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

Public debt: 11.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish

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, small commercial ship construction and repair

Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production: 15.59 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption: 14.46 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports: 40 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production: 2.451 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption: 310,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves: 36 billion bbl (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production: 19.2 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 7.41 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 7.83 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 4.502 trillion cu m (2005)

Current account balance: $9.622 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $52.16 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber

Exports - partners: US 47.4%, Brazil 10.7%, Spain 7.1% (2004)

Imports: $25.95 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals

Imports - partners:
China 9.4%, US 8.4%, UK 7.8%, Netherlands 5.9%, France 5.4%, Germany 4.8%, Italy 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $30.16 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external: $37.49 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: IMF, $250 million (1998)

Currency (code): naira (NGN)

Exchange rates:
nairas per US dollar - 132.59 (2005), 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58 (2002), 111.23 (2001)

Fiscal year: calendar year