10 Amazing, Fun & Interesting Facts About Nigeria

Nigeria, officially known as Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country located in the West Africa. It is surrounded by Benin, Chad, Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean. Let us know some interesting facts about Nigeria

Interesting Facts About Nigeria

#1: Some Quick Facts

• The name of the country comes from the name of the river Niger which flows through the country.
• The official name of Nigeria is the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
• Nigerian Naira is the official currency of Nigeria.
• Abuja is the capital city of the country.

#2: Member of…

• Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth.
• It has also been enlisted in the list of countries featuring in the ‘Next Eleven Economies’ list.
• It is also a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

#3: Language Richness

• Nigeria has English as its official language.
• Apart from this, over 30 other languages are spoken in the country.
• 7% of the world’s languages are spoken in Nigeria.

#4: The Oil Story

• Oil was discovered in the state of Bayesla in the year 1956.
• Port court on the Niger delta is recognized as the center of the oil industry. These interesting facts about Nigeria related to the oil story are worth knowing.

#5: Petroleum and its contribution

• 95% of the export income is obtained by the export of Petroleum.
• The country is one of the largest reserves of petroleum and that fact has been well proven by its 10^th position.

#6: Invasion

• In 1472, the Europeans reached Nigeria and thus started the story of its invasion and struggle for independence.
• Even during its 47 years of independence from the British, the country is ruled by its military regimen.

#7: The Niger

• The country is named after this river, which takes the pride of being the largest and longest river in West Africa.
• Niger spans 4,180km from its source in the Highlands of Guinea, which is in Southern Guinea.
• The river is also the third largest river in Africa.
• The Niger delta is formed by Niger along with another river Benue.

#8: Climate

• Nigeria has a wide variety of climatic conditions with the south experiencing equatorial weather conditions, an arid north and a tropical center.
• The best time to tour Nigeria and visit it would be during December through February.
• As for rain, it also varies according to the region.

#9: Bio (butterfly) diversity at its peak

• Nigeria has the largest number of butterfly species in the world.
• The most number of butterflies can be found in the regions of Calabar, Cross river state.

#10: The People

• Being the most populous country in Africa, it also stands seventh in the World population.
• Nigeria also boasts of having the most number of twin births, compared to any other country in the world.
• It also boasts of having the second largest newspaper subscribing nation of Africa just after Egypt.
• The ethnic groups Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% are the most populous and influential tribes.
• The population is 50% Muslims, 40% Christians and 10% indigenous believers.

One more interesting fact about Nigeria: Transportation

• Nigeria has the 15^th largest waterways in the world and it spans to 8600km.
• When it comes to air transport, Nigeria ranks 89 in the world for 53 airports, out of which 40 have paved runways and 13, have unpaved ones as of 2012.