nigeria case study

• nigeria is a west african country that has experienced development recently
• nigeria has the highest gdp for africa
• its the 27th largest country in the world in terms of economy
• nigeria has a large supply of oil
• seventh largest population
• Nigeria


  West African country that has experienced recent development to become an emerging country
• Nigeria has the highest GDP for Africa, and has the 27th largest economy in the world (larger than Norway, Greece and the UAE)
• Nigeria has a large supply of oil, which they sell to the world
• Countries that supply oil have large political influence over those who don't
• Nigeria has the 7th largest population in the world, with 200 million Nigerians calling it home. This is three times bigger than the size of the UK's population
• Nigeria's culture


  • Socially diverse, with many ethnic groups and religions
  • This is because Nigeria had many tribes in the past, as well as being ruled by Britain during the British Empire
• Nigeria's politics


  • Nigeria has contributed military assistance to many UN peacekeeping tours, especially protecting a ceasefire in Liberia
  • Nigeria has battled to stop its corrupt government. Much of the population has lost trust in the government, who accepts money bribes
• Life in Nigeria


  • Over 70% of the population are farmers, so Nigeria relies predominantly on agriculture & farming
  • Nigeria has a variety of landscapes, from hot desert to tropical rainforests. This means there are many different crops grown, as well as different living conditions
• Nigeria has the second largest film industry in the world (nicknamed Nollywood!)
• Nigeria's wealth has been increasing over the last century

  However, a recent recession (a dip in the economy) has resulted in unemployment and slow improvements in the lives of Nigerians
• Life expectancy in Nigeria

  54 years (the average for the world is 73 years, which is significantly higher than Nigeria's life expectancy)
• Literacy rates in Nigeria

  65.1% - This is very low, especially in girls, due to inequality in girls and boys' aspirations. Only one in three children stay in school
• Human Development Index rank of Nigeria

  158 out of 188 - Low life expectancy and large inequality in wealth has resulted in this low rank
• Nigeria's industry


  • Nigeria has a large agriculture industry, with many workers engaged in subsistence farming
  • Manufacturing is mainly in the form of processing oil that has been mined. Oil makes a large profit and can help Nigeria have political influence over other countries
• Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in Nigeria

  • The most influential TNCs in Nigeria are oil companies: Foreign companies (such as French company Total or the USA's Exxon-Mobil) that invest in Nigeria and buy rights to export oil from the country
  • Nigeria has its own TNC - Transcorp - which provides hospitality services across the globe, as well as energy
• Foreign oil TNCs can invest in new production & mining sites, which provide more jobs


  However, oil is very damaging to the environment. Oil spills can damage habitats and harm wildlife. The Niger river has regular oil spills, affecting wildlife and local residents' health. In addition, burning fossil fuels like oil contributes to Global Warming, which impacts Nigeria's environment directly (droughts & desertification in some places, increased flooding and extreme weather in other regions of Nigeria)
• NGO campaigns in Nigeria

  • Christian Aid: Protecting displaced Nigerians, supporting individuals with HIV, providing medical treatment to children
  • Action Aid: Encouraging girls to go to school, providing food parcels to families out of work due to COVID-19, pressuring TNCs to pay their taxes in Nigeria