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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Nigeria
Index
Size: 923,768 square kilometers.
Boundaries: Southern limits set by Gulf of
Guinea
(bights of Benin and Biafra); inland frontiers shared with
Cameroon (east), Chad (northeast), Niger (north), and
Benin
(west). No demarcation reached regarding
Nigeria-Chad-Niger-
Cameroon boundary in Lake Chad, leading to disputes.
Topography: Five major geographic divisions: low
coastal zone along Gulf of Guinea; succeeded northward by
hills
and low plateaus; Niger-Benue river valley; broad stepped
plateau
stretching to northern border with highest elevations over
1,200
meters; mountainous zone along eastern border, which
includes
country's highest point (2,042 meters).
Climate: Tropical with variations governed by
interaction of moist southwest monsoon and dry northeast
winds.
Mean maximum temperatures of 30-32ºC (south), 33-35ºC
(north).
High humidity in south February-November, June-September
in
north; low humidity during dry season. Annual rainfall
decreases
northward; about 2,000 millimeters in coastal zone (Niger
Delta
averages over 3,550 millimeters); 500 to 750 millimeters
in
north.
Data as of June 1991
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