Nigeria is a country located in West Africa. The official name of the country is the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The country has a population of 188,462,640 people, making it the 7th most populous country in the world. In terms of area, it is the 32nd largest country at 356,669 square miles. The country is a federal presidential republic with a president and vice president. The capital city is Abuja. However, the largest city is Lagos. The official currency is the Naira. Nigeria’s flag features three vertical stripes: two green stripes on each end and one white stripe in the middle.

Nigeria is a federal republic modelled after the United States,[78] with executive power exercised by the President. It is influenced by the Westminster System model[citation needed] in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature. The president presides as both head of state and head of the federal government; the leader is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two 4-year terms.[79] In 28 March 2015 presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari emerged victorious to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, defeating then-incumbent Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Despite the economic slow down in the country Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected in February 2019 for a second term.


Ethnocentrism, tribalism, religious persecution, and prebendalism have affected Nigerian politics both prior and subsequent to independence in 1960. Kin-selective altruism has made its way into Nigerian politics, resulting in tribalist efforts to concentrate Federal power to a particular region of their interests.[80] Nationalism has also led to active secessionist movements such as MASSOB, Nationalist movements such as Oodua Peoples CongressMovement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and a civil war. Nigeria’s three largest ethnic groups (Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba) have maintained historical preeminence in Nigerian politics; competition amongst these three groups has fuelled corruption and graft.[81]

Because of the above issues, Nigeria’s political parties are pan-national and secular in character (though this does not preclude the continuing preeminence of the dominant ethnicities).[81][82] The two major political parties are the People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress. About twenty minor opposition parties are registered.


In the Nigerian general election, 2015, the victorious All Progressives Congress has 225 House seats and 60 in the Senate while the defeated People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria became the opposition with 125 seats in the House and 49 in the Senate.

Nigeria National symbols of Nigeria
Flag Bicolour
Emblem Coat of arms of Nigeria
Anthem Arise, O Compatriots
Animal Eagle
Bird Black crowned crane
Flower Costus spectabilis

As in many other African societies, prebendalism and high rates of corruption continue to constitute major challenges to Nigeria. All major parties have practised vote-rigging and other means of coercion to remain competitive. In the period before 1983 election, a report of experts prepared by the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies showed that only the 1959 and 1979 elections were held without systematic rigging.[84] In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over $400 billion to corruption since independence.[85]


There are three distinct systems of law in Nigeria:


The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria.[79]

Foreign relations

The Ministry of Foreign AffairsAbuja

Upon gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria made African unity the centrepiece of its foreign policy and played a leading role in the fight against the apartheid government in South Africa.[87] One exception to the African focus was Nigeria’s close relationship developed with Israel throughout the 1960s. The latter nation sponsored and oversaw the construction of Nigeria’s parliament buildings.[88]


With this Africa-centred stance, Nigeria readily sent troops to the Congo at the behest of the United Nations shortly after independence (and has maintained membership since that time). Nigeria also supported several Pan-African and pro-self government causes in the 1970s, including garnering support for Angola‘s MPLASWAPO in Namibia, and aiding opposition to the minority governments of Portuguese Mozambique, and Rhodesia.


Nigeria retains membership in the Non-Aligned Movement. In late November 2006, it organised an Africa-South America Summit in Abuja to promote what some attendees termed “South-South” linkages on a variety of fronts.[89] Nigeria is also a member of the International Criminal Court, and the Commonwealth of Nations. It was temporarily expelled from the latter in 1995 when ruled by the Abacha regime.


Millions of Nigerians have emigrated during times of economic hardship, primarily to Europe, North America and Australia. It is estimated that over a million Nigerians have emigrated to the United States and constitute the Nigerian American populace. Individuals in many such Diasporic communities have joined the “Egbe Omo Yoruba” society, a national association of Yoruba descendants in North America.[91]

In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Nigeria, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China‘s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.[92]


Nigerian Army self-propelled anti-aircraft gun

Nigerian Air Force Mil Mi-35P

The Nigerian military are charged with protecting the Federal Republic of Nigeria, promoting Nigeria’s global security interests, and supporting peacekeeping efforts, especially in West Africa. This is in support of the doctrine sometimes called Pax Nigeriana.

The Nigerian Military consist of an army, a navy, and an air force.[79] The military in Nigeria have played a major role in the country’s history since independence. Various juntas have seized control of the country and ruled it through most of its history. Its last period of military rule ended in 1999 following the sudden death of former dictator Sani Abacha in 1998. His successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar, handed over power to the democratically-elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo the next year.

As Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria has repositioned its military as a peacekeeping force on the continent. Since 1995, the Nigerian military, through ECOMOG mandates, have been deployed as peacekeepers in Liberia (1997), Ivory Coast (1997–1999), and Sierra Leone (1997–1999).[93] Under an African Union mandate, it has stationed forces in Sudan‘s Darfur region to try to establish peace.

In 2017, Nigeria signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[94]

Nigeria is located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea and has a total area of 923,768 km2 (356,669 sq mi),[95] making it the world’s 32nd-largest country (after Tanzania). It is comparable in size to Venezuela, and is about twice the size of the US state of California. Its borders span for 4,047-kilometre (2,515 mi)s, and it shares borders with Benin (773 km or 480 mi), Niger (1,497 km or 930 mi), Chad (87 km or 54 mi), Cameroon (1,690 km or 1,050 mi), and has a coastline of at least 853 kilometres (530 miles)s.[96] Nigeria lies between latitudes  and 14°N, and longitudes  and 15°E.

The Zuma Rock near Suleja

The highest point in Nigeria is Chappal Waddi at 2,419 m (7,936 ft). The main rivers are the Niger and the Benue, which converge and empty into the Niger Delta. This is one of the world’s largest river deltas, and the location of a large area of Central African mangroves.

Nigeria has a varied landscape. The far south is defined by its tropical rainforest climate, where annual rainfall is 60 to 80 inches (1,500 to 2,000 mm) a year.[97] In the southeast stands the Obudu PlateauCoastal plains are found in both the southwest and the southeast.[98] This forest zone‘s most southerly portion is defined as “salt water swamp”, also known as a mangrove swamp because of the large amount of mangroves in the area. North of this is fresh water swamp, containing different vegetation from the salt water swamp, and north of that is rainforest.[99]

Nigeria’s most expansive topographical region is that of the valleys of the Niger and Benue river valleys (which merge into each other and form a “y” shape).[98] To the southwest of the Niger is “rugged” highland. To the southeast of the Benue are hills and mountains, which form the Mambilla Plateau, the highest plateau in Nigeria. This plateau extends through the border with Cameroon, where the montane land is part of the Bamenda Highlands of Cameroon.


Everything in between the far south and the far north is savannah (insignificant tree cover, with grasses and flowers located between trees). Rainfall is more limited, to between 500 and 1,500 millimetres (20 and 60 in) per year.[97] The savannah zone’s three categories are Guinean forest-savanna mosaic, Sudan savannah, and Sahel savannah. Guinean forest-savanna mosaic is plains of tall grass interrupted by trees. Sudan savannah is similar but with shorter grasses and shorter trees. Sahel savannah consists of patches of grass and sand, found in the northeast.[99] In the Sahel region, rain is less than 500 millimetres (20 in) per year and the Sahara Desert is encroaching.[97] In the dry northeast corner of the country lies Lake Chad, which Nigeria shares with Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Environmental issues

Rainforest range of Obudu Mountains

Clouds kissing the mountains of Obudu



Haphazard industrial planning, increased urbanisationpoverty and lack of competence of the municipal government are seen as the major reasons for high levels of waste pollution in major cities of the country. Some of the ‘solutions’ have been disastrous to the environment, resulting in untreated waste being dumped in places where it can pollute waterways and groundwater.[100]


In 2010, thousands of people were inadvertently exposed to lead-containing soil / ore from informal gold mining within the northern state of Zamfara. While estimates vary, it is thought that upwards of 400 children died of acute lead poisoning, making this perhaps the largest lead poisoning fatality epidemic ever encountered.[103] As of 2016, efforts to manage the exposure are ongoing.

Administrative divisions

Major cities
City Population
Lagos 8,048,430
Kano 3,931,300
Ibadan 2,559,853
Benin City 1,147,188
Port Harcourt 1,005,904


As of the 2006 census, Nigeria has eight cities with a population of over 1 million people (from largest to smallest): LagosKanoIbadanBenin City and Port Harcourt. Lagos is the largest city in Africa, with a population of over 12 million in its urban area.[106]

A clickable map of Nigeria showing its 36 states and the federal capital territory.


About this image
  1. Abia
  2. Adamawa
  3. Akwa Ibom
  4. Anambra
  5. Bauchi
  6. Bayelsa
  7. Benue
  8. Borno
  9. Cross River
  10. Delta
  11. Ebonyi
  12. Enugu
  1. Edo
  2. Ekiti
  3. Gombe
  4. Imo
  5. Jigawa
  6. Kaduna
  7. Kano
  8. Katsina
  9. Kebbi
  10. Kogi
  11. Kwara
  12. Lagos
  1. Nasarawa
  2. Niger
  3. Ogun
  4. Ondo
  5. Osun
  6. Oyo
  7. Plateau
  8. Rivers
  9. Sokoto
  10. Taraba
  11. Yobe
  12. Zamfara
Federal Capital Territory (FCT)


Skyline of Nigerian capital, Abuja

Skyline of Central Business District, Abuja at night

Nigeria is classified as a mixed economy emerging market. It has reached lower middle income status according to the World Bank,[107] with its abundant supply of natural resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, transport sectors and stock exchange (the Nigerian Stock Exchange), which is the second largest in Africa.

Nigeria was ranked 21st in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) in 2015.[108] Nigeria is the United States’ largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and supplies a fifth of its oil (11% of oil imports). It has the seventh-largest trade surplus with the US of any country worldwide. Nigeria is the 50th-largest export market for US goods and the 14th-largest exporter of goods to the US. The United States is the country’s largest foreign investor.[109] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected economic growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.[110][111][112] The IMF further projects an 8% growth in the Nigerian economy in 2011.[113]






Farm ploughing in Kwara State

As of 2010, about 30% of Nigerians are employed in agriculture.[115] Agriculture used to be the principal foreign exchange earner of Nigeria.[116]

Major crops include beanssesamecashew nutscassavacocoa beansgroundnutsgum arabic, kolanut, maize (corn), melonmilletpalm kernelspalm oilplantainsricerubbersorghumsoybeans and yams.[117] Cocoa is the leading non-oil foreign exchange earner.[117] Rubber is the second-largest non-oil foreign exchange earner.[117]

Prior to the Nigerian civil war, Nigeria was self-sufficient in food.[117] Agriculture has failed to keep pace with Nigeria’s rapid population growth, and Nigeria now relies upon food imports to sustain itself.[117] The Nigerian government promoted the use of inorganic fertilizers in the 1970s.[118] In August 2019, Nigeria closed its border with Benin to stop rice smuggling into the country as part of efforts to boost the local production.[119]

Oil and natural gas

Oando head office in Victoria IslandLagos


Headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)


The Niger Delta Nembe Creek Oil field was discovered in 1973 and produces from middle Miocene deltaic sandstoneshale in an anticline structural trap at a depth of 2 to 4 kilometres (1.2 to 2.5 miles).[121] In June 2013, Shell announced a strategic review of its operations in Nigeria, hinting that assets could be divested. While many international oil companies have operated there for decades, by 2014 most were making moves to divest their interests, citing a range of issues including oil theft. In August 2014, Shell Oil Company said it was finalising its interests in four Nigerian oil fields.[122]

Nigeria has a total of 159 oil fields and 1,481 wells in operation according to the Department of Petroleum Resources.[123] The most productive region of the nation is the coastal Niger Delta Basin in the Niger Delta or “South-south” region which encompasses 78 of the 159 oil fields. Most of Nigeria’s oil fields are small and scattered, and as of 1990, these small fields accounted for 62.1% of all Nigerian production. This contrasts with the sixteen largest fields which produced 37.9% of Nigeria’s petroleum at that time.[124]

Oil facility at Bonny IslandRivers State

Overseas remittances

Next to petrodollars, the second biggest source of foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria are remittances sent home by Nigerians living abroad.[125][125]



Sahad Stores is a large department store

Nigeria has one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world, major emerging market operators (like MTN, 9mobile, Airtel and Globacom) basing their largest and most profitable centres in the country.[126] The government has recently begun expanding this infrastructure to space based communications. Nigeria has a space satellite that is monitored at the Nigerian National Space Research and Development Agency Headquarters in Abuja.


Nigeria Air

On 18 July 2018, the Nigeria government announced a new birth of a National Carrier, the Nigeria Air,[128] this is after 15 years during which the former carrier was shut down as a result of mismanagement. Nigeria Air is meant to be operated under government/private partnership and the government is expected to fund the initial capital of $300 million within the next 5 years.

The Name, Logo and the government planned was announced the same day it was launched, the Nigeria website and staff have not been planned. Though the issue of the staff is expected to be managed by the private owners. It is worthy to note that Nigeria Air is different from Air Nigeria, an airline company owned by NICON ground and Virgin Atlantic Airways


Topaz from the Jos Plateau in Plateau State

Nigeria also has a wide array of underexploited mineral resources which include natural gas, coal, bauxitetantalite, gold, tin, iron ore, limestoneniobium, lead and zinc.[129] Despite huge deposits of these natural resources, the mining industry in Nigeria is still in its infancy.

Manufacturing and technology

Ajaokuta factory

Nigeria has a manufacturing industry that includes leather and textiles (centred on Kano, Abeokuta, Onitsha, and Lagos), Nigeria currently has an indigenous auto manufacturing company; Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing[citation needed] located in Nnewi. It produces Buses and manufacturing (for the French car manufacturer Peugeot as well as for the English truck manufacturer Bedford, now a subsidiary of General Motors), T-shirts, plastics and processed food.

Nigeria in recent years has been embracing industrialisation. It currently has an indigenous vehicle manufacturing company, Innoson Motors, which manufactures Rapid Transit Buses, trucks and SUVs with an upcoming introduction of cars.[130] Nigeria also has few Electronic manufacturers like Zinox, the first Branded Nigerian Computer and Electronic gadgets (like tablet PCs) manufacturers.[131] In 2013, Nigeria introduced a policy regarding import duty on vehicles to encourage local manufacturing companies in the country.[132][133] In this regard, some foreign vehicle manufacturing companies like Nissan have made known their plans to have manufacturing plants in Nigeria.[134] Ogun is considered to be the current Nigeria’s industrial hub, as most factories are located in Ogun and more companies are moving there, followed by Lagos.[135][136][137] The city of Aba in south-eastern part of the country are well known for their handicrafts, famously known as “Aba made”.


Population density in Nigeria

Population in Nigeria[142][143]
Year Million
1971 55
1980 71
1990 95
2000 125
2004 138
2008 151
2012 167
2016 186
2017 191

Nigeria’s population increased by 57 million from 1990 to 2008, a 60% growth rate in less than two decades.[142] As of 2017, the population stood at 191 million. Around 42.5% of the population were 14 years or younger, 19.6% were aged 15–24, 30.7% were aged 25–54, 4.0% aged 55–64, and 3.1% aged 65 years or older. The median age in 2017 was 18.4 years.[144] Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and accounts for about 17% of the continent’s total population as of 2017; however, exactly how populous is a subject of speculation.[143]


According to the United Nations, Nigeria has been undergoing explosive population growth and has one of the highest growth and fertility rates in the world. By their projections, Nigeria is one of eight countries expected to account collectively for half of the world’s total population increase in 2005–2050.[147] By 2100 the UN estimates that the Nigerian population will be between 505 million and 1.03 billion people (middle estimate: 730 million).[148] In 1950, Nigeria had only 33 million people.[149]

One in six Africans is Nigerian as of 2019.[150] Presently, Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world. The birth rate is 35.2-births/1000 population and the death rate is 9.6 deaths/1000 population as of 2017, while the total fertility rate is 5.07 children born/woman.[151]

Nigeria’s largest city is Lagos. Lagos has grown from about 300,000 in 1950[152] to an estimated 13.4 million in 2017.[153]

Largest Cities in Nigeria, 2017[153]
City Million
Lagos 13.463
Kano 3.82
Ibadan 3.383
Abuja 2.919
Port Harcourt 2.343
Benin City 1.628

Ethnic groups

Hausa harpist.jpg IGBO CULTURAL ATTIRE.jpg Kwarastatedrummers.jpg
Hausa lute player Igbo Chief Yoruba drummers

Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, with varying languages and customs, creating a country of rich ethnic diversity. The three largest ethnic groups are the HausaYoruba and Igbo, together accounting for more than 70% of the population, while the EdoIjawFulɓeKanuriUrhobo-IsokoIbibioEbiraNupeGbagyiJukunIgalaIdoma and Tiv comprise between 25 and 30%; other minorities make up the remaining 5%.[154]

The middle belt of Nigeria is known for its diversity of ethnic groups, including the Pyem, Goemai, and Kofyar. The official population count of each of Nigeria’s ethnicities has always remained controversial and disputed as members of different ethnic groups believe the census is rigged to give a particular group (usually believed to be northern groups) numerical superiority.[106][155][156]

There are small minorities of British, American, East IndianChinese (est. 50,000),[157] white Zimbabwean,[158] Japanese, Greek, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Nigeria. Immigrants also include those from other West African or East African nations. These minorities mostly reside in major cities such as Lagos and Abuja, or in the Niger Delta as employees for the major oil companies. A number of Cubans settled in Nigeria as political refugees following the Cuban Revolution.

In the middle of the 19th century, a number of ex-slaves of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian descent[159] and emigrants from Sierra Leone established communities in Lagos and other regions of Nigeria. Many ex-slaves came to Nigeria following the emancipation of slaves in the Americas. Many of the immigrants, sometimes called Saro (immigrants from Sierra Leone) and Amaro (ex-slaves from Brazil)[160] later became prominent merchants and missionaries in these cities.



Map of Nigeria’s linguistic groups



The major languages spoken in Nigeria represent three major families of languages of Africa: the majority are Niger-Congo languages, such as IgboYorubaIjawFulfulde, and EdoKanuri, spoken in the northeast, primarily in Borno and Yobe State, is part of the Nilo-Saharan family, and Hausa is an Afroasiatic language.

Even though most ethnic groups prefer to communicate in their own languages, English as the official language is widely used for education, business transactions and for official purposes. English as a first language is used only by a small minority of the country’s urban elite, and it is not spoken at all in some rural areas. Hausa is the most widely spoken of the three main languages spoken in Nigeria itself.

With the majority of Nigeria’s populace in the rural areas, the major languages of communication in the country remain indigenous languages. Some of the largest of these, notably Yoruba and Igbo, have derived standardised languages from a number of different dialects and are widely spoken by those ethnic groups. Nigerian Pidgin English, often known simply as “Pidgin” or “Broken” (Broken English), is also a popular lingua franca, though with varying regional influences on dialect and slang. The pidgin English or Nigerian English is widely spoken within the Niger Delta Regions, predominantly in WarriSapelePort HarcourtAgenebodeEwu, and Benin City.[161]


Religion in Nigeria (2013)[162]

  Islam (51.6%)
  Christianity (47%)

Nigeria is a religiously diverse society, with Christianity and Islam being the most widely professed religions. Nigerians are nearly equally divided into Christians and Muslims, with a tiny minority of adherents of Traditional African religions and other religions.[162] As common in other parts of Africa where Christianity and Islam are dominant, religious syncretism with the Traditional African religions is common throughout Nigeria.[163]



The vast majority of Muslims in Nigeria are Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence; however, a sizeable minority also belongs to Shafi madhhab. A large number of Sunni Muslims are members of Sufi brotherhoods. Most Sufis follow the QadiriyyaTijaniyyah and/or the Mouride movements. A significant Shia minority exists (see Shia in Nigeria). Some northern states have incorporated Sharia law into their previously secular legal systems, which has brought about some controversy.[164] Kano State has sought to incorporate Sharia law into its constitution.[165] The majority of Quranists follow the Kalo Kato or Quraniyyun movement. There are also Ahmadiyya and Mahdiyya minorities,[166] as well as Bahá’ís.[167]

According to a 2001 report[168] from The World Factbook by CIA, about 47% of Nigeria’s population is Muslim, 43% are Christians and 10% adhere to local religions.[169] But in some recent report, the Christian population is now sightly larger than the Muslim population. An 18 December 2012 report on religion and public life by the Pew Research Center stated that in 2010, 49.3 percent of Nigeria’s population was Christian, 48.8 percent was Muslim, and 1.9 percent were followers of indigenous and other religions, or unaffiliated.[170]

The 2010 census of Association of Religion Data Archives has also reported that 46.5% of the total population was Christian, slightly larger than the Muslim population of 45.5%, while 7.7% were members of other religions.[171] However, these estimates should be taken with caution because sample data is mostly collected from major urban areas in the south, which are predominantly Christian.[172][173][174]

Among Christians, the Pew Research survey found that 74% were Protestant, 25% were Catholic, and 1% belonged to other Christian denominations, including a small Orthodox Christian community.[175] In terms of Nigeria’s major ethnic groups, the Hausa ethnic group (predominant in the north) was found to be 95% Muslim and 5% Christian, the Yoruba tribe (predominant in the west) was 55% Muslim, 35% Christian and 10% adherents of other religions, while the Igbos (predominant in the east) and the Ijaw (south) were 98% Christian, with 2% practising traditional religions.[176] The middle belt of Nigeria contains the largest number of minority ethnic groups in Nigeria, who were found to be mostly Christians and members of traditional religions, with a small proportion of Muslims.[177][178]

Leading Protestant churches in the country include the Church of Nigeria of the Anglican Communion, the Assemblies of God Church, the Nigerian Baptist Convention and The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations. Since the 1990s, there has been significant growth in many other churches, independently started in Africa by Africans, particularly the evangelical Protestant ones. These include the Redeemed Christian Church of GodWinners’ ChapelChrist Apostolic Church (the first Aladura Movement in Nigeria), Living Faith Church WorldwideDeeper Christian Life MinistryEvangelical Church of West AfricaMountain of Fire and MiraclesChrist EmbassyLord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival MovementCelestial Church of Christ, and Dominion City.[179] In addition, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Aladura Church, the Seventh-day Adventist and various indigenous churches have also experienced growth.[180][181]


Further, Nigeria has become an African hub for the Grail Movement and the Hare Krishnas,[182] and the largest temple of the Eckankar religion is in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with a total capacity of 10,000.



A hospital in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital

At a dental office in Lagos.

Successful emergency Caesarean section done in Nigeria.

Health care delivery in Nigeria is a concurrent responsibility of the three tiers of government in the country, and the private sector.[184] Nigeria has been reorganising its health system since the Bamako Initiative of 1987, which formally promoted community-based methods of increasing accessibility of drugs and health care services to the population, in part by implementing user fees.[185] The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based health care reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services. A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.[186]

HIV/AIDS rate in Nigeria is much lower compared to the other African nations such as Kenya or South Africa whose prevalence (percentage) rates are in the double digits. As of 2012, the HIV prevalence rate among adults ages 15–49 was just 3.1 percent.[187][188] As of 2014, life expectancy in Nigeria is 52.62 years on average according to CIA,[189] and just over half the population have access to potable water and appropriate sanitation; As of 2010, the infant mortality is 8.4 deaths per 1000 live births.[190]

Nigeria was the only country in Africa to have never eradicated polio, which it periodically exported to other African countries;[191] Polio was cut 98% between 2009 and 2010. However, a major breakthrough came in December 2014, when it was reported that Nigeria hadn’t recorded a polio case in 6 months, and was on its way to being declared Polio free.[192][193] In 2012, a new bone marrow donor program was launched by the University of Nigeria to help people with leukaemialymphoma, or sickle cell disease to find a compatible donor for a life-saving bone marrow transplant, which cures them of their conditions. Nigeria became the second African country to have successfully carried out this surgery.[194] In the 2014 ebola outbreak, Nigeria was the first country to effectively contain and eliminate the Ebola threat that was ravaging three other countries in the West African region, the unique method of contact tracing employed by Nigeria became an effective method later used by countries such as the United States, when ebola threats were discovered.[195][196][197]

The Nigerian health care system is continuously faced with a shortage of doctors known as ‘brain drain‘, because of emigration by skilled Nigerian doctors to North America and Europe. In 1995, it was estimated that 21,000 Nigerian doctors were practising in the United States alone, which is about the same as the number of doctors working in the Nigerian public service. Retaining these expensively trained professionals has been identified as one of the goals of the government.[198]


Education in Nigeria is overseen by the Ministry of EducationLocal authorities take responsibility for implementing policy for state-controlled public education and state schools at a regional level. The education system is divided into Kindergartenprimary educationsecondary education and tertiary education. After the 1970s oil boom, tertiary education was improved so that it would reach every subregion of Nigeria. 68% of the Nigerian population is literate, and the rate for men (75.7%) is higher than that for women (60.6%).[199]


Tertiary education



Students with required documents[201] typically enter university from age 17-18 onwards and study for an academic degree.


Nigerian police officer at the Eyo festival in Lagos.

Nigeria is home to a substantial network of organised crime, active especially in drug trafficking. Nigerian criminal groups are heavily involved in drug trafficking, shipping heroin from Asian countries to Europe and America; and cocaine from South America to Europe and South Africa.[202] Various Nigerian Confraternities or student “campus cults” are active in both organised crime and in political violence as well as providing a network of corruption within Nigeria. As confraternities have extensive connections with political and military figures, they offer excellent alumni networking opportunities. The Supreme Vikings Confraternity, for example, boasts that twelve members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are cult members.[203]

On lower levels of society, there are the “area boys“, organised gangs mostly active in Lagos who specialise in mugging and small-scale drug dealing. Gang violence in Lagos resulted in 273 civilians and 84 policemen killed in the period of August 2000 to May 2001.[204]


There is some major piracy in Nigeria, with attacks directed at all types of vessels. Consistent with the rise of Nigeria as an increasingly dangerous hot spot, 28 of the 30 seafarers kidnapped globally between January–June 2013 were in Nigeria.[207]

Nigeria has been pervaded by political corruption. Nigeria was ranked 143 out of 182 countries in Transparency International‘s 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index; however, it improved to 136th position in 2014.[208]

More than $400 billion were stolen from the treasury by Nigeria’s leaders between 1960 and 1999.[209] In late 2013, Nigeria’s then central bank governor Lamido Sanusi informed President Goodluck Jonathan that the state oil company, NNPC, had failed to remit US$20 billion in oil revenues, which it owed the state. Jonathan, however, dismissed the claim and replaced Sanusi for alleged mismanagement of the central bank’s budget. A Senate committee also found Sanusi’s account to be lacking substance.[210] After the conclusion of the NNPC’s account audit, it was announced[who?] in January 2015 that NNPC’s non-remitted revenue is actually US$1.48 billion, which it needs to refund back to the Government.[211]



Meridien Akwa Ibom golf course park

Tourism in Nigeria centers largely on events, due to the country’s ample amount of ethnic groups, but also includes rain forestssavannahwaterfalls, and other natural attractions.[213]

Lekki Beach in Lagos


The Peak of Obudu Mountain, Cross River State


Lagos has become an important location for African and “black” cultural identity.[215] Lots of festivals are held in Lagos; festivals vary in offerings each year and may be held in different months. Some of the festivals are Festac Food Fair held in Festac Town Annually, Eyo Festival, Lagos Black Heritage Carnival, Lagos Carnival, Eko International Film Festival, Lagos Seafood Festac Festival, LAGOS PHOTO Festival and the Lagos Jazz Series, which is a unique franchise for high-quality live music in all genres with a focus on jazz. Established in 2010, the event takes place over a 3–5 day period at selected high quality outdoor venues. The music is as varied as the audience itself and features a diverse mix of musical genres from rhythm and blues to soul, Afrobeat, hip hop, bebop, and traditional jazz. The festivals provide entertainment of dance and song to add excitement to travelers during a stay in Lagos.


Lagos has a variety of hotels ranging from three star to five star hotels, with a mixture of local hotels such as Eko Hotels and SuitesFederal Palace Hotel and franchises of multinational chains such as Intercontinental Hotel, Sheraton and Four Points by Hilton. Other places of interest include the Tafawa Balewa Square, Festac town, The Nike Art GalleryFreedom Park, Lagos and the Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos.


Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is Africa’s most popular and best selling literary piece ever, translated into over 40 languages across Africa and around the world.[216]

Nigerian citizens have authored many influential works of post-colonial literature in the English language. Nigeria’s best-known writers are Wole Soyinka, the first African Nobel Laureate in Literature, and Chinua Achebe, best known for the novel Things Fall Apart (1958) and his controversial critique of Joseph Conrad.

Other Nigerian writers and poets who are well known internationally include John Pepper ClarkBen OkriCyprian EkwensiBuchi EmechetaHelon HabilaT. M. AlukoChimamanda Ngozi AdichieDaniel O. FagunwaFemi Osofisan and Ken Saro Wiwa, who was executed in 1995 by the military regime. Nigeria has the second largest newspaper market in Africa (after Egypt) with an estimated circulation of several million copies daily in 2003.

Critically acclaimed writers of a younger generation include Adaobi Tricia NwaubaniChris AbaniSefi AttaHelon HabilaHelen OyeyemiNnedi OkoraforKachi A. OzumbaSarah Ladipo Manyika, and Chika Unigwe.


Music and film

Wizkid is a popular musician in Nigeria, Africa and Worldwide

Nigeria has had a huge role in the development of various genres of African music, including West African highlifeAfrobeatAfrobeats, and palm-wine music, which fuses native rhythms with techniques that have been linked to the CongoBrazilCubaJamaica and worldwide.

Many late 20th-century musicians such as Fela Kuti have famously fused cultural elements of various indigenous music with American jazz and soul to form Afrobeat which has in turn influenced hip hop music.[217] JuJu music, which is percussion music fused with traditional music from the Yoruba nation and made famous by King Sunny Adé, is from Nigeria. Fuji music, a Yoruba percussion style, was created and popularised by Mr. Fuji, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister.

Afan Music was invented and popularised by the Ewu-born poet and musician Umuobuarie Igberaese. There is a budding hip-hop movement in Nigeria. Kennis Music, the self-proclaimed number-one record label in Africa, and one of Nigeria’s biggest record labels, has a roster almost entirely dominated by hip-hop artists.

An Eyo Iga Olowe Salaye masquerade jumping

Notable musicians from Nigeria include: Sade AduKing Sunny AdéOnyeka OnwenuDele SosimiAdewale AyubaEzebuiro Obinna, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Bennie King, Ebenezer Obey, Umobuarie Igberaese, Femi KutiLagbajaDr. Alban, Wasiu Alabi, Bola Abimbola, Zaki Adze, Tuface IdibiaAṣaNnekaWaleP Square and D’Banj.

In November 2008, Nigeria’s music scene (and that of Africa) received international attention when MTV hosted the continent’s first African music awards show in Abuja.[218] Additionally, the very first music video played on MTV Base Africa (the 100th station in the MTV network) was Tuface Idibia‘s pan-African hit “African Queen”.

The Nigerian film industry is known as Nollywood (a blend of Nigeria and Hollywood[219]) and is now the 2nd-largest producer of movies in the world. Nigerian film studios are based in Lagos, Kano and Enugu, forming a major portion of the local economy of these cities. Nigerian cinema is Africa’s largest movie industry in terms of both value and the number of movies produced per year. Although Nigerian films have been produced since the 1960s, the country’s film industry has been aided by the rise of affordable digital filming and editing technologies.

The 2009 thriller film The Figurine is generally considered the game changer, which heightened the media attention towards New Nigerian Cinema revolution. The film was a critical and commercial success in Nigeria, and it was also screened in international film festivals.[220] The 2010 film Ijé by Chineze Anyaene, overtook The Figurine to become the highest grossing Nigerian film; a record it held for four years, until it was overtaken in 2014 by Half of a Yellow Sun (2013).[221][222] By 2016, this record was held by The Wedding Party, a film by Kemi Adetiba.

By the end of 2013, the film industry reportedly hit a record breaking revenue of ₦1.72 trillion (US$11 billion). As of 2014, the industry was worth ₦853.9 billion (US$5.1 billion) making it the third most valuable film industry in the world, behind the United States and India. It contributed about 1.4% to Nigeria’s economy; this was attributed to the increase in the number of quality films produced and more formal distribution methods.[223][224]

T.B. Joshua‘s Emmanuel TV, originating from Nigeria, is one of the most viewed television stations across Africa.[225]

There are many festivals in Nigeria, some of which date to the period before the arrival of the major religions in this ethnically and culturally diverse society. The main Muslim and Christian festivals are often celebrated in ways that are unique to Nigeria or unique to the people of a locality.[226] The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation has been working with the states to upgrade the traditional festivals, which may become important sources of tourism revenue.[227]


A plate of pounded yam (iyan) and egusi soup with tomato stew.



Football is largely considered Nigeria’s national sport and the country has its own Premier League of football. Nigeria’s national football team, known as the “Super Eagles”, has made the World Cup on Six occasions 19941998200220102014, and most recently in 2018. In April 1994, the Super Eagles ranked 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, the highest ranking achieved by an African football team. They won the African Cup of Nations in 19801994, and 2013, and have also hosted the U-17 & U-20 World Cup. They won the gold medal for football in the 1996 Summer Olympics (in which they beat Argentina) becoming the first African football team to win gold in Olympic Football.

The nation’s cadet team from Japan ’93 produced some international players notably Nwankwo Kanu, a two-time African Footballer of the year who won the European Champions League with Ajax Amsterdam and later played with Inter MilanArsenalWest Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth. Other players that graduated from the junior teams are Nduka UgbadeJonathan AkpoborieVictor IkpebaCelestine BabayaroWilson Oruma and Taye Taiwo. Some other famous Nigerian footballers include John Obi MikelObafemi MartinsVincent EnyeamaYakubuRashidi YekiniPeter Odemwingie and Jay-Jay Okocha.

Nigerian football supporters at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

According to the official May 2010 FIFA World Rankings, Nigeria was the second top-ranked football nation in Africa and the 21st highest in the world. Nigeria is also involved in other sports such as basketball, cricket and track and field.[229] Boxing is also an important sport in Nigeria; Dick Tiger and Samuel Peter are both former World Champions.

Nigeria’s national basketball team made the headlines internationally when it qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics as it beat heavily favoured world elite teams such as Greece and Lithuania.[230] Nigeria has been home to numerous internationally recognised basketball players in the world’s top leagues in America, Europe and Asia. These players include Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, and later NBA draft picks Solomon AlabiYinka DareObinna EkezieFestus EzeliAl-Farouq Aminu and Olumide Oyedeji.

Nigeria made history by qualifying the first bobsled team for the Winter Olympics from Africa when their Women’s 2-man team qualified for the bobsled competition at the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongchangSouth Korea.[231]

In the early 1990s, Scrabble was made an official sport in Nigeria. By the end of 2017, there were around 4,000 players in more than 100 clubs in the country.[232] In 2015, Wellington Jighere became the first African player to win World Scrabble Championship.[233]


Human rights

Stanmore Court, Lagos


Under the Shari’a penal code that applies to Muslims in twelve northern states, offences such as alcohol consumption, homosexuality,[235] infidelity and theft carry harsh sentences, including amputation, lashing, stoning and long prison terms.[236] According to 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center, 98% of Nigerians believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society.[237]

Under a law signed in early 2014,[238] same-sex couples who marry face up to 14 years each in prison. Witnesses or anyone who helps gay couples marry will be sentenced to 10 years behind bars. The bill also punishes the “public show of same-sex amorous relationships directly or indirectly” with ten years in prison. Another portion of the bill mandates 10 years in prison for those found guilty of organising, operating or supporting gay clubs, organizations and meetings.

In the Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom, about 15,000 children were branded as witches; most of them ended up abandoned and abused on the streets.[239]

Strife and sectarian violence




Since 2002, the country has seen sectarian violence by Boko Haram, an Islamist movement that seeks to abolish the secular system of government and establish Sharia law in the country.[241][242] In the 2010 Jos riots, more than 500 people were killed by Muslim religious violence.[243]

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in May 2014 claimed that Boko Haram attacks have left at least 12,000 people dead and 8,000 people crippled.[244] In May 2014 BeninChadCameroon and Niger joined Nigeria in a united effort to combat Boko Haram in the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls.[245]

In April 2016, over 500 people in ten villages in predominantly Christian areas in Agatu were murdered by Fulani herdsmen. A visiting Nigerian Senator reported that all the primary and post-primary schools, health centres, worship centres as well as the police station in the area were destroyed. The UNHCR representative said in 20 years of work, she had “never seen such a level of destruction”.[246] 130 Fulani adults and children were massacred in the Kaduna State in February 2019.[247]

Media representation


Nigerian women in tech

Nigeria is a state party of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women[249] It also has signed Maputo Protocol, an international treaty on women’s rights, and the African Union Women’s Rights Framework.[250] Discrimination based on sex is a significant human rights issue, however. Forced marriages are common.[251]

Child marriage remains common in Northern Nigeria.[252] 39% of girls are married before age 15, although the Marriage Rights Act banning marriage of girls below 18 years of age was introduced on a federal level in 2008.[253]

There is polygamy in Nigeria.[254] Submission of the wife to her husband and domestic violence are common. Women have less land rights.[255] Maternal mortality was at 814 per 100,000 live births in 2015.[256] Female genital mutilation is common. In 2015, there was a federal ban.[257]

In Nigeria, at least half a million suffer from vaginal fistula, largely as a result of lack of medical care.[258][259] Early marriages can result in fistula.[260] Most workers in the informal sector are women.[261]