English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Exports
petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber
External Debt
$10,430,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
nairas (NGN) per US dollar - 117.8 (2008 est.), 127.46 (2007), 127.38 (2006), 132.59 (2005), 132.89 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
0
Location
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Area
923,768 km sq
71,740 km sq
Coastline
853 km
402 km
Climate
varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north
tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
