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Mon, 10:13 13 Oct 2008 GMT17

 
Nigeria violence

Last reviewed: 14-03-2008

Violence and corruption plague a vast nation


Since military rule ended in Nigeria in 1999, at least 14,000 people have been killed in sporadic outbursts of violence across the country and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

  • 70 percent of population live on less than $1 a day
  • World's eighth-largest oil exporter
  • At least 200,000 displaced

    Conflict often flares up along religious and ethnic lines, but in many cases the root causes lie in unequal access to power and resources, including land and oil wealth.

    Nigeria is the world's eighth-largest oil exporter. Oil has helped fuelled corruption, and Nigerians continue to suffer from high levels of poverty and inequality.

    Economic, political and social tensions, especially among jobless youths, can quickly spill over into violence.

    Presidential and state elections in April 2007 were marred by violent clashes, corruption allegations and widespread electoral irregularities. Analysts said the chaotic polls were a blow to democracy in Africa.

    Key facts


    According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), calculating the number of Nigeria's internally displaced people (IDPs) is "very problematic" due to a lack of systematic registration. Hence estimates vary widely.

    Number of IDPs 500,000-several million (Nigerian Government, 2006)
    200,000 as of November 2004 (U.N. Humanitarian Appeal for West Africa, 2005)
    Undetermined (IDMC, 2007)
    POPULATION/ETHNIC MIX
    Total population 141.4 million (UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/8)
    Population under age 15 44.3 percent of total, 2005 (UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/8)
    Number of ethnic groups About 250
    Largest ethnic groups (percentage of total population) Hausa/Fulani (29 percent - mainly in the north)
    Yoruba (21 percent - mainly in the southwest)
    Igbo (18 percent - mainly in the southeast)
    Ijaw (10 percent - mainly in the Niger Delta)
    (UNDP)
    INCOME POVERTY AND INEQUALITY
    Population living on less than $1 a day 70.8 percent (1990-2004 average) (UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/8)
    Share of income/expenditure, poorest 10 percent 1.9 percent (2003) (UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/8)
    Share of income/expenditure, richest 10 percent 33.2 percent (2003)
    (UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/8)
    CORRUPTION
    Transparency International ranking (1=least corrupt, 179=most corrupt) 2007: 147 (joint)
    2006: 142 (joint)
    2005: 152 (joint)
    Transparency International, 2007)

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