About Federal Republic of Nigeria 2347051455404

About Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Nigeria, with a land mass of 923,768 sq.km, 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 in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean.

The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black. By 2011, there are about 170 million Nigerians, home and abroad.

 There are over 200 ethnic groups, and the three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

 A number of foreigners from China, the United States, Japan, Lebanon, India, Greece etc, also live in Nigeria.

In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims and Christians with a very small minority who practice traditional religion.

Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos. At the 2006 census, the city of Abuja had a population of 776,298.

Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country.

The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa, containing Lagos, the nation's largest urban area. The present population is estimated around 17 million by the Lagos State Government.