Nigeria – country information

Country name	Nigeria
Official name	Federal Republic of Nigeria
Capital	Abuja
continent	Africa
Area	923,768 km2
Population	173 615 000 (2013)
Foundation of a state	1. 10. 1960
The highest mountains	Dimlang 2042 m
Longest rivers	Niger 4160 km (western 1400 km), Benue 1420 km
State system	military regime
The biggest cities	Lagos 1,525,000 (conurbation 7.5 million), Ibadan 1,375,000, Oyo 1,100,000, Kano 775,000, Ogbomosho 720,000, Abuja (capital) 450,000
Official language	English
Ethnicity/National Composition	Hausa 22%, Yoruba 21.5%, Igbo (Ibo) 18.2%, others 38.3%
Religious affiliation	Muslim 47%, Protestant 26.5%, Roman Catholic 12%, African Christian 11%, other 3.5%
Currency	1 naira (N) = 100 kobo
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$2,697 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	47.08 let (2006)

Nigeria – Neighboring States

State	Capital	Area	Populace
Benin	Porto Novo	112,622 km	10 323 000
Chad	N’Djamena	1,284,000 km	12 825 000
Cameroon	Yaounde	475 442 km	20 386 799
Niger	Niamey	1,267,000 km	17 129 076

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Nigeria is the largest country on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and the most populous country in Africa. It borders Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin.

Nigeria is a country in West Africa. Common borders in the west – with Benin, in the north – with Niger, in the northeast – with Chad, in the east – with Cameroon.

The capital is Abuja. The official language is English. Currency – naira. Religion – Christianity, Islam.

Nigeria is located on the western side of Africa. The southern coast is settled by the Atlantic Ocean. There is high humidity, the climate is monsoonal and subequatorial. In summer, the air temperature is + 32 * C, and only August is rainy and relatively cool here.

Sights of Nigeria

It makes no sense to hide that Nigeria has certain image problems. Of course, there are a lot of positive features in the portrait of this country.

For example, Nigeria politically and economically dominates all of West Africa. Music and literature appeared in the country, the influence of which spread far beyond the continent.

But does the average person know about this?

If you approach someone on the street and ask what he thinks of Nigeria, then most likely you will hear the definition of an underdeveloped and dangerous African country for tourists, where poverty, anarchy, religious unrest and military conflicts thrive.

The country has tropical forests, savannas, waterfalls, many cultural and historical monuments. But a number of regions of the country suffer from a shortage of electricity, poor quality roads and dirty drinking water.

Interesting facts

Tourism is one of the important components of the country’s budget. Which is rather strange due to the constant religious unrest in the country.

Religious clashes often occur between representatives of Muslims and Christians. The government regularly sends troops and police to prevent massacres. The northern part of Nigeria has been living under Sharia law since 1999.

Country data

Location: West Africa

Time zone: CET (during summer time: CET – 1)

Total area: 923,768 km²

Land area: 910,768 km²

Water area: 13,000 km²

Length of the state border: 4,047 km

Bordering countries:
Benin: 773 km
Cameroon: 1,690 km
Niger: 1,497 km
Chad: 87 km

Coastline: 853 km

Capital: Abuja

Regions: 37
Abia, Abuja, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara

Telephone code: 00 234 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m

Population

Population: approx. 177 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 2.5% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 192

Life expectancy: 52 (male), 54 (female)

Official language: English, Bantu and Sudan languages

Religions:

• 50% Muslim
• 40% Christian
• 10% other

Climate

Due to the strong north-south extension of approx. 1,000 km, Nigeria is divided into two different climatic regions.

North:

• the climate is very stressful for Europeans
• lower humidity than in the south
• Midday temperatures up to 50 ° C
• Temperature differences between day and night are up to 20 ° C
• Rainy season from April to September

South:

• Tropical, humid and hot all year round
• Air humidity over 80% all year round
• Rainy season from April to October with sometimes very heavy rainfall
• Midday temperatures around 30 ° C
• small temperature differences between day and night

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Naira (NGN)

Classification: 1 Naira = 100 Kobo

ATMs: not available

International credit cards: almost no acceptance. However, you should not use them because of the increasing number of cases of fraud (theft, forgery, incorrect billing)!

Regulations: The import and export of the national currency is limited to a maximum of 20 NGN and must be registered. There is no limit to the amount of foreign currencies that can be imported. The export is limited to the declared import.

Although the official exchange rates are not very cheap and therefore the black market is flourishing, you should only exchange your money at the state exchange offices.

Often people cheat on the black market. Furthermore, there is a risk of being arrested during the illegal currency exchange there.

All exchange receipts should be kept until departure.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 200 g tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

In order to be able to export African objects of high cultural or material value, you should definitely seek permission beforehand.

Travel advice

Warnings are given against traveling to the northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and Yobe.

We advise against traveling to the regions of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kogi and Rivers.

Car journeys should only be made during the day and only in armored or well-secured vehicles. Bus rides are not recommended in any case.

The crime rate has recently been very high in the big cities. Robberies and thefts are particularly common.

Attacks and capture by pirates occur time and again in the waters off the coast of Nigeria.

Behavioral advice

If you are made unsolicited offers by strangers that contain very high profits or extremely low prices, you should be very suspicious.

• avoid large crowds
• do not wear any visible jewelry or other valuable items
• You should always keep cash well hidden
• never use a credit card (you are almost always scammed)

As robberies and thefts occur again and again, you should exercise particular caution. Especially at night you shouldn’t be out alone.

Economy

Most of Nigeria’s much-needed foreign currency comes from the export of oil.

The second largest branch of the economy is agriculture, in which over 50% of the population is employed.

Industries: Chemical industry, natural gas production, oil production, ore mining, agriculture, food production, light industry

Natural resources: iron ores, natural gas, oil, coal, farmland, hydropower, zinc, tin

Land use:

• Usable land: 33%
• Grain cultivation: 3%
• Pasture area: 44%
• Forests: 12%
• other: 8%

Plants

About 80% of the country was originally covered with dense forest. This was largely cleared for agriculture.

In the wetlands in the south there is still tropical rainforest, which consists of mahogany trees, obechen and oil palms.

Animals

Large mammals that were very diverse just a few years ago can no longer be found today.

The habitat of many animal species has been destroyed by the strong population growth and the use of large areas for agriculture.

Some antelopes, hyenas, crocodiles and snake species are still native to the country’s swamps and rainforests.