Nigeria

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Geographic regions
  - South
  - Central region
  - North
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
  - Roads
  - Railroads
  - Shipping and air transport
  - Telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Early Nigerian cultures
  - The Nok culture
  - Igbo Ukwu
- Kingdoms and empires of precolonial Nigeria
  - Kanem-Borno
  - Hausaland
  - Yorubaland and Benin
  - Igboland and the delta city-states
  - The Sokoto jihad
  - The collapse of Oyo
- The arrival of the British
- Nigeria as a colony
- Independent Nigeria
  - The civil war
  - The Second Republic
  - Military regimes, 1983–99
  - Return to civilian rule
    - The 1999 elections
    - Nigeria under Olusegun Obasanjo
      Domestic unrest and insecurity
      Bakassi Peninsula dispute
    - Controversies surrounding the 2007 presidential election
    - Nigeria under Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan
      Yar’Adua’s ill health
      The 2011 elections
      Rise of Boko Haram
    - The 2015 elections and electorate concerns
    - Nigeria under Buhari
      Recession, fight against corruption, and insecurity
      The 2019 elections

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Hausa musicians

Yoruba women dancing

Nigeria: Religious affiliation

Nigeria: Urban-rural

Nigeria: Age breakdown

For Students

Nigeria summary

Discover

Young men throw balloons and glitter from above the mosque at the celebration Eid Al-Fitr after prayers playing with balloons outside of Al-seddeeq mosque, Al-Mansourah, Egypt. 17 July 2015.

African Americans demonstrating for voting rights in front of the White House as police and others watch, March 12, 1965. One sign reads, "We demand the right to vote everywhere." Voting Rights Act, civil rights.

Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Young boys working in a thread spinning mill in Macon, Georgia, 1909. Boys are so small they have to climb onto the spinning frame to reach and fix broken threads and put back empty bobbins. Child labor. Industrial revolution

The Rise of the Machines: Pros and Cons of the Industrial Revolution

Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding

7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers

General Pershing's troops moving into Mexico in 1917 during World War I.

Timeline of World War I

Nigeria: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Federal Republic of Nigeria
Head Of State And Government	President: Bola Tinubu
Capital	Abuja
Population	(2024 est.) 228,181,000
Form Of Government	federal republic with two legislative houses (Senate [109]; House of Representatives [360])
Official Language	English
Official Religion	none
Official Name	Federal Republic of Nigeria
Total Area (Sq Km)	923,768
Total Area (Sq Mi)	356,669
Monetary Unit	Nigerian naira (₦)
Population Rank	(2023) 6
Population Projection 2030	263,839,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2023) 623.8
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2023) 240.8
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2020) 52% • Rural: (2020) 48%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2022) 59.5 years • Female: (2022) 63.3 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2018) 71% • Female: (2018) 53%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2022) 468,653
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2022) 2,140

Did You Know?

Nigeria's movie production industry, nicknamed "Nollywood", is the second-largest in the world by volume.
Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births per year globally.
To gain weight and conform with African standards of beauty, Nigerian girls can consume food all day in "fattening rooms".

Photos and Videos

Hausa musicians

Yoruba women dancing

woman removing husks from millet

offshore oil rig

Nigerian two hundred-naira banknote

Nigeria: National Assembly

The ecological disaster of oil spills in the Niger delta

See how Nigerian farmers employ pesticides and fertilizers to increase crop yields and agricultural efficacy

National anthem of Nigeria

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

member states of the Commonwealth OPEC Commonwealth The role of Nigerian women list of cities and towns in Nigeria Economic Community of West African States nation-state Nigerian Civil War Aladura flag of Nigeria India United States United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

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Africa

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continent

western Africa

western Africa

region, Africa

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Lagos

Nigeria

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Quiz

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Match the Country with Its Hemisphere Quiz

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Guess the Country by Its Neighbors Quiz

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You Name It!

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Countries & Their Features

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Which Country Is Larger By Population? Quiz

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The Country Quiz

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Africa’s Physical Features

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Countries of the World

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Geography of Africa Quiz

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Geography Fun Facts

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Which Country Is Larger? Quiz