The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja. Nigeria's population is 135,031,164 (July 2007 estimate); the male/female ratio is 1.022 male(s)/female (2007est.). The birth rate is estimated at 40.2 births and the mortality rate at 16.68 per 1,000 people; the country population growth rate at 2.379%. The life expectancy is 47.44 years (46.83 years for males and 48.07 years for females). The total fertility rate is 5.45 children born per woman, and infant mortality rate is 95.52 deaths/1,000 live births.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in adult population was estimated to be 3.9% (2005), with 2 900 000 people believed to be living with HIV/AIDS and 220 000 people died in 2006 due to the pandemic. There were about 240 000 children living with HIV/AIDS (2006) and 930 000 orphaned by AIDS.