Poverty aggravates religious and ethnic differences, with frequent clashes over resources such as land and oil.
The large Muslim population (45%) lives predominantly in the north, with a large Christian population (45%) in the south. Ten per cent follow traditional African religions.
ActionAid in Nigeria
ActionAid has been active in Nigeria since 1999, and now works on education, HIV & AIDS, conflict resolution and peace building.
Our work aims to strengthen the capacity of poor people to claim and achieve their basic rights, promote and strengthen anti-poverty and pro-democracy organisations, influence policies and practices in favour of the rights of poor people, and to especially help women and girls gain the strength, confidence and vision to work for positive changes to their situation.
Building relationships with government agencies and prospective partners has been a major part of our work so far, and we try to link our work on the ground to policy influencing work at the state and national levels.
Essential Stats
| Nigeria | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 151.81 million (2009) | 21.5 million (2009) |
| Area | 923,768 km2 | 7,703,581 km2 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | $216.57 billion (2009) | $970.6 billion (2009) |
| GDP per capita | $1,424 (2009) | $44,598 (2009) |
| Human Development Index | 0.47 (2006) | 0.965 (2006) |
| Life expectancy (male/female) | 58/56 (2005-2010) | 79/84 (2005-2010) |
| Adult literacy (%) | 69.1 (1995-2005) | 99 (1995-2005) |
Sources: IMF, UN data, Human Development Index, UN statistics
