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482 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

and potentially expensive process. Women’s empowerment remains a chal-
lenge as well, in spite of the significant success by way of access to education
and female representation in the parliament. Last, in addition to the national
challenges, regional instability caused by unrest in the neighboring states of
Libya and Syria has negatively impacted the Egyptian economy and, therefore,
the financial and social conditions within the country (UNDP, 2016).

Nigeria
Nigeria is located in West Africa between Benin and Cameroon, on the Gulf of
Guinea. It occupies an area slightly smaller than that of Egypt, but it is the
most populous country in Africa. A little less than half of the 186 million
people in Nigeria live in the urban areas, and this number is growing alongside
the population growth rate of 2.4%. The country itself is urbanizing at the
rapid rate of 4.6% annually, and this is causing significant environmental is-
sues including soil degradation, deforestation, and urban air and water
pollution. Rapid urbanization is causing significant social issues as well. Be-
tween 2002 and 2011, the Nigerian economy grew around 6.2% annually;
however, there seemed to be a disconnect between the growth and human
development. About 70% of the Nigerian population lives below the poverty
line, with the majority of those in poverty located in the rural areas. In
addition, Nigeria boasts one of the highest levels of income inequality in the
world. Nigeria’s unemployment is also significantly high, around 24%. The
2010 Nigeria Education Data Survey shows some promising trends, primary
school attendance ratios have increased, whereas pupil repetition and dropout
rates are low. About 60% of children in urban areas attend secondary school;
however, only 36% of children in rural areas attend secondary school, indi-
cating that school attendance is still directly linked to household socioeco-
nomic status, which poses a significant challenge considering the large
impoverished population. Gender inequality and violence toward women also
remains pervasive.
At present, several harmful practices against women are prevalent in Nigeria.
Female genital mutilation is one of the most common of these. Various widow-
hood rites, denial of inheritance rights and access to land and other resources,
early and forceful marriage, domestic violence and harmful childbirth practices
are some of the several practices infringing on the human rights of the Nigerian
female.
NG Gov (2012).
Health care poses a significant challenge in Nigeria as well. As of 2009,
there was a physician density of 0.41 physicians per 1000 people. The health
care system remains inadequate and inefficient due to the rapidly increasing
population and challenges in infrastructure and skill development. All of this is
leading to significantly low life expectancy throughout the country, 53.4 years