Some Interesting Facts About Nigeria And Independence. Nigeria officially the federal republic of Nigeria is located in West Africa. it is a sovereign country and a federal republic that is made up of 36 states and the federal capital territory located in Abuja.
30 FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA
- Lord Lugard Amalgamated the northern and southern protectorates in the year 1914
- Nigeria became formally independent on the first of Oct 1960.( independence)
- Nigeria achieved a stable democracy in 1999.
- Nigeria is inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups with more than 500 distinct languages.
- The official language of Nigeria is English.
- Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa
- Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and it is the world’s 24th largest economy according to the IMF (2020 estimate)
- Nigeria’s human development index ranks 158th in the world.
- Nigeria is the found ing member of the Africa Union and member of many other international organizations,including the United Nations, Commonwealth of the Nation, the ECIWAS, and OPEC.
- The name Nigeria was taken from flourish between 1,500BC and 200 AD.
- There are three distinct systems of law in Nigeria , they are common law,customary law, and sharia law.
- More than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigeria’s leaders between 1960 and 1999.
- Nigeria has remained the key player in the international oil industry since 1971 and maintains membership within organization of the petroleum exporting countries OPEC.
- It is estimated that over a million Nigerians have emigrated to the united states and constitute the Nigerian American populace.
- Nigeria is divided into 36 states and one federal capital territory, which are further sub-divided into 774 local government areas.
- Nigeria has five big cities with over a million population ( from largest to smallest) Lagos, Kano, Ibadan,Benin city, and portharcourt.
- Lagos is the largest city in Africa, with a population of over 12 million in its urban area.
- Nigeria is located on the Gulf of Guinea and it has a total area of 923,768 km(356,669)mi) making it the world’s 32nd
- It shares borders with Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
- The two main rivers in Nigeria are river Benue and river Niger
- Nigeria is classified as a mixed economy emerging market.
- It has reached lower middle-income status according to the world bank, with its abundant supply of natural resources.
- Nigeria was ranked 21st in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) in 2015
- Nigeria is the 50th largest export market for U.S goods and the 14th largest exporter of goods to the U.S.
- Nigeria made history in April 2006 by becoming the first African country to completely pay its debt (estimated ₦30 billion) owe to the pair club
- Nigeria is trying to reach the sustainable development goal number 1, which is to end poverty in all forms by 2030
- Prior to the Nigerian civil war, Nigeria was self-sufficient in food.
- In Aug 2019 Nigeria closed its borders with Benin to stop rice smuggling into the country as part of an effort to boost the local production.
- Nigeria’s national football team known as the super eagle has made the world cup on six occasions, 1994,1998,2002,2010,2014, and most recently in 2018.
- The super eagles ranked 5th in the FIFA world cup rankings, which is the highest-ranking achieved by the African football team.
There are more other interesting facts about Nigeria. This post is just to update you with the most important ones.