Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa 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 mi2). With a population of more than 242 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 second largest in Africa. Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500 distinct languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo together constituting over 60% of the total population. The official language is English. Nigeria's constitution ensures freedom of religion. The country is divided roughly in half between Muslims and Christians; indigenous religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, are in the minority. 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 the earliest known civilisations in the region. The Hausa Kingdoms inhabited the north, with the Edo Kingdom of Benin in the south, the Igbo Kingdom of Nri in the southeast, and in the southwest the Yoruba Empire of Oyo. The present-day territory of Nigeria was home to a vast array of city-states. In the early 19th century, the Fulani Jihads culminated in the Sokoto Caliphate. The modern...