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The oil-rich Nigerian economy, crippled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new democratic administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from over dependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues.
Heavily dependent on agriculture, the country has not kept up with rapid population growth, where the population is now approximately 123,337,822. In fact, Nigeria is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Consequently, Nigeria now must import food, where it used to be a large net exporter of food. The country is likely to receive a debt-restructuring deal with the Paris club and a $1 billion loan from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Increased foreign investment combined with high world oil prices should push growth to over 5% in 2000-01.
As of 1995, the literacy rate for the entire population is estimated to be 57.1%. Of the population, 67.3% of males are literate, whereas 47.3% of females are literate. The gross enrollment ratios for primary education have fallen in the more recent years. In 1980, enrollment rates were at a high of 109%, dropping to 98% in 1997. Conversely, enrollment rates for secondary education are on the rise, from 18% in 1980 to 33% in 1997.
Nigeria's telephone network has a capacity of over 700,000 lines. In 1997, the total number of connected lines was 412,000, giving a telephone density of 0.35 line per hundred population. In 1998, the Government of Nigeria adopted a National Policy on Telecommunications as an approach to deregulate the telecommunications sector and to modernize and expand the telecommunications networks in the country.
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