NIGERIA, BASIC FACTS-by Riaño

NIGERIA

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is one of the countries of Africa and it is located in its west side, closed to Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. It is a federal constitutional republic composed by 36 states; its capital is called Abuja.

Here we have some information about Nigeria, which we will give us a general overview of this country:

·         Religion: half of the population are Christians (living in the southern and central parts of the country) and the rest are Muslims, which are concentrated in the northern and southwester regions. Also, and small part of people practising religions indigenous.

·         Total land mass: 923,768 km² (Nigeria is the 32nd-largest country by land mass in the world).

·         Population: around 175 million people (which means that it is the most populous country in Africa, and the 7th most populous country in the world. This population is composed  by 500 ethnics groups

·         City with the biggest population: Lagos (former capital) with 21 million of people.

·         Currency: the Naira is divided in 100 kobo. (1€ is equal to 211 nairas)

·         Official language: English, but there are indigenous languages (Yoruba and Igbo) very common used in rural areas. Also others minority languages are spoken.

·         Standard of living: it is low due to a poor healthcare,  bad  living conditions and a lack of access to good water (life expectancy is  52 years)

Nigeria is a member of the British Commonwealth. In the past it was colonised by the British in the late 19 th century until 1960, when Nigerians obtained the independence. After this, there was a civil war during two years.

The political regimen has been changing from democratic governments to military dictatorships.

But in 2011, it seems that there was the first presidential election recognised as free and fair.

Nowadays Nigeria is becoming in a powerful country thanks to its economy which was the largest in Africa in 2014 and it is expected that in 2050 Nigeria become one of the world's top 20 economies. All of this thanks to its crude oil production, exports and reserves.

However Nigeria has some important problems. Probably most important is the sectarian violence of Islamic terrorist groups such Boko Haran, witch objective is to implant the Sharia law. Thousands of people have been dead and kidnapped for this group.

Fdo: Riaño