This article is about the country. For other uses, see Nigeria (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with the neighbouring country Niger.

"Naijá" redirects here. For the language sometimes referred to by the same name, see
Nigerian Pidgin.

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Jamhuriyar Tarayyar Najeriya (Hausa)
Ọ̀ hàńjíkọ̀ Ọ̀ hànézè Naìjíríyà (Igbo)
Orílẹ̀-èdè Olómìniira Àpapọ̀ Nàìjíríà (Yoruba)

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress"

Anthem: "Nigeria, We Hail Thee"

Duration: 25 seconds.
0:25

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Capital Abuja

9°4′N 7°29′E

Largest city Lagos

Official languages English

National languages ● Hausa

● Igbo
● Yoruba

Regional [2]
Over 525 languages
[1]
languages

Ethnic groups 30% Hausa

[3] 15.5% Yoruba
(2018)
15.2% Igbo
6% Fulani
2.4% Tiv
2.4% Kanuri
1.8% Ibibio
1.8% Ijaw
19.9% other

Demonym(s) Nigerian

Government Federal presidential

republic

• President Bola Tinubu

• Vice President Kashim Shettima

• Senate President Godswill Akpabio

• House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas

• Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun

Legislature National Assembly

• Upper house Senate

• Lower house House of Representatives

Independence from the United Kingdom

• Northern Nigeria 1 January 1900

Protectorate

• Southern Nigeria 1 January 1900

Protectorate

• Unification of 1 January 1914

Nigeria

• Declared 1 October 1960

independent as a
sovereign state

• Became a 1 October 1963

republic

• Current 29 May 1999

constitution

Area

• Total 2
923,769 km (356,669 sq
mi) (31st)

• Water (%) 1.4

Population

• 2023 estimate [4]

236,747,130 (6th)

• Density 2
249.8/km (647.0/sq mi)
(42nd)

GDP (PPP) 2024 estimate

 • Total [5]
$1.443 trillion (27th)

• Per capita [5]

$6,340 (142nd)

GDP (nominal) 2024 estimate

• Total [5]
$252.738 billion (53rd)

• Per capita [5]

$1,110 (167th)

Gini (2020) [6]

35.1

medium inequality

HDI (2022) [7]

0.548

low (161st)

Currency Naira (₦) (NGN)

Time zone UTC+01:00 (WAT)

Date format dd/mm/yyyy

Calling code +234

ISO 3166 code NG

Internet TLD .ng

[a] [9]
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is
situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to
the south. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 sq mi). With a
population of more than 230 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the
world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the
northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic
comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is
located. The largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest
metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.
Nigeria has been home to several indigenous material cultures, pre-colonial states and
kingdoms since the second millennium BC. The Nok culture, c. 1500 BC, marks one of
[10]
the earliest known civilizations in the region. The Hausa Kingdoms inhabited the
north, with the Edo Kingdom of Benin in the south and Igbo Kingdom of Nri in the
southeast. In the southwest, the Yoruba Ife Empire was succeeded by the Oyo Empire.
[11]: 136
The present day territory of Nigeria was home to a vast array of city-states. In the
early 19th century the Fula jihads culminated in the Sokoto Caliphate. The modern state
originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial
shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria
Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures and
[12]
incorporated traditional monarchs as a form of indirect rule. Nigeria became a
formally independent federation on 1 October 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967
to 1970, followed by a succession of military dictatorships and democratically elected
civilian governments until achieving a stable government in the 1999 Nigerian
presidential election.

Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500
[13][14][15]
distinct languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures. The three
largest ethnic groups are the Hausa in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the
[16]
east, together constituting over 60% of the total population. The official language is
[17]
English, chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level. Nigeria's constitution
[18]
ensures de jure freedom of religion, and it is home to some of the world's largest
[19]
Muslim and Christian populations. Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Muslims,
who live mostly in the north part of the country, and Christians, who live mostly in the
south; indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, are
[20]
in the minority.

Nigeria is a regional power in Africa and a middle power in international affairs. Nigeria's
economy is the fourth-largest in Africa, the 53rd-largest in the world by nominal GDP,
and 27th-largest by PPP. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa by its citizens
[21]
due to its large population and economy, and is considered to be an emerging
market by the World Bank. Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a
member of many international organizations, including the United Nations, the
[22]
Commonwealth of Nations, NAM, the Economic Community of West African States,
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC. It is also a member of the informal
MINT group of countries and is one of the Next Eleven economies.

Etymology
The name Nigeria derives from the Niger River running through the country. This name
was coined on 8 January 1897, by the British journalist Flora Shaw. The neighboring
Republic of Niger takes its name from the same river. The origin of the name Niger,
which originally applied to only the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The
word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants
along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu before 19th-century European
[23][24]
colonialism. Before Flora Shaw suggested the name Nigeria, other proposed
names included Royal Niger Company Territories, Central Sudan, Niger Empire, Niger
[25]
Sudan, and Hausa Territories.

History
Main articles: History of Nigeria and Timeline of Nigerian history
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistory of Nigeria
Kainji Dam excavations showed ironworking by the 2nd century BC. The transition from
Neolithic times to the Iron Age was accomplished without intermediate bronze
production. Some have suggested the technology moved west from the Nile Valley. But
the Iron Age in the Niger River valley and the forest region appears to predate the
introduction of metallurgy in the upper savanna by more than 800 years, as well as
predating it in the Nile Valley. More recent research suggests that iron metallurgy was
[26][27][28][29]
developed independently in Africa.

Nok sculpture, terracotta

The Nok civilization thrived between 1,500 BC and AD 200. It produced life-sized
[30][31][32][33][34]
terracotta figures that are some of the earliest known sculptures in Africa
 [26][27][28]
and smelted iron by about 550 BC and possibly a few centuries earlier.
Evidence of iron smelting has also been excavated at sites in the Nsukka region of
[35]
southeast Nigeria: dating to 2000 BC at the site of Lejja and to 750 BC at the site of
Opi.

Early history
Main article: History of Nigeria before 1500

Royal Benin ivory mask, one of Nigeria's most recognized artifacts. Benin Empire, 16th century.

The Kano Chronicle highlights an ancient history dating to around 999 AD of the Hausa
Sahelian city-state of Kano, with other major Hausa cities (or Hausa Bakwai) of Daura,
Hadeija, Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Rano, and Gobir all having recorded histories dating
back to the 10th century. With the spread of Islam from the 7th century AD, the area
became known as Sudan or as Bilad Al Sudan (English: Land of the Blacks). Since the
populations were partially affiliated with the Arab Muslim culture of North Africa, they
began trans-Saharan trade and were referred to by the Arabic speakers as Al-Sudan
(meaning "The Blacks") as they were considered an extended part of the Muslim world.
There are early historical references by medieval Arab and Muslim historians and
geographers which refer to the Kanem–Bornu Empire as the region's major centre for
[citation needed]
Islamic civilization.

The Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued
[36][37]
until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and
the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture. Nri and Aguleri, where
the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the
[38]
clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri. In West Africa, the
oldest bronzes made using the lost wax process were from Igbo-Ukwu, a city under Nri
[36]
influence.

The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the
[39][40] [41]
12th and 14th centuries, respectively. The oldest signs of human settlement at
[39]
Ife's current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes
terracotta and bronze figures.

Pre-colonial era
Further information: History of Nigeria (1500–1800)

Depiction of Benin City by a Dutch illustrator in 1668. The wall-like structure in the centre
probably represents the walls of Benin, housing the Benin bronze decorated historic Benin City
Palace.

In the 16th century, Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin important,
direct trade with the peoples of southern Nigeria, at the port they named Lagos
(formerly Eko) and in Calabar along the region Slave Coast. Europeans traded goods
with peoples at the coast; coastal trade with Europeans also marked the beginnings of
[42]
the Atlantic slave trade. The port of Calabar on the historical Bight of Biafra (now
commonly referred to as the Bight of Bonny) became one of the largest slave-trading
posts in West Africa in this era. Other major slaving ports were located in Badagry,
[42][43]
Lagos on the Bight of Benin, and Bonny Island on the Bight of Biafra. The majority
[44]
of those taken to these ports were captured in raids and wars. Usually, the captives
were taken back to the conquerors' territory as forced labour; they were sometimes
gradually acculturated and absorbed into the conquerors' society. Slave routes were
established throughout Nigeria linking the hinterland areas with the major coastal ports.
Some of the more prolific slave-trading kingdoms who participated in the Atlantic slave
trade were linked with the Edo's Benin Empire in the south, Oyo Empire in the
[42][43]
southwest, and the Aro Confederacy in the southeast. Benin's power lasted
[45]
between the 15th and 19th centuries. Oyo, at its territorial zenith in the late 17th to
early 18th centuries, extended its influence from western Nigeria to modern-day Togo.
In the north, the incessant fighting amongst the Hausa city-states and the decline of the
Bornu Empire allowed the Fulani people to gain headway into the region. Until this
point, the Fulani, a nomadic ethnic group, primarily traversed the semi-desert Sahelian
region north of Sudan with cattle and avoided trade and intermingling with the Sudanic
peoples. At the beginning of the 19th century, Usman dan Fodio led a successful jihad
against the Hausa Kingdoms, founding the centralised Sokoto Caliphate. This empire,
with Arabic as its official language, grew rapidly under his rule and that of his
descendants, who sent out invading armies in every direction. The vast landlocked
empire connected the east with the western Sudan region and made inroads down
south conquering parts of the Oyo Empire (modern-day Kwara), and advanced towards
the Yoruba heartland of Ibadan, to reach the Atlantic Ocean. The territory controlled by
the empire included much of modern-day northern and central Nigeria. The sultan sent
out emirs to establish suzerainty over the conquered territories and promote Islamic
civilization; the emirs in turn became increasingly rich and powerful through trade and
slavery. By the 1890s, the largest slave population in the world, about two million, was
concentrated in the territories of the Sokoto Caliphate. The use of slave labour was
[46]
extensive, especially in agriculture. By the time of its break-up in 1903 into various
European colonies, the Sokoto Caliphate was one of the largest pre-colonial African
[47]
states.