Nigeria is Africa’s largest country by population accounting for 20% of the world’s black population. She’s also known for many other things such as being the most culturally diverse country in black Africa and having a huge pool of talented and resourceful people. What about specific facts that stand her out from other countries especially in Africa? Here are 10 Facts about Nigeria to know:

Independence and Nationhood

The country known today as Nigeria was officially formed by an amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914. The name Nigeria was coined by Miss Flora Shaw after the River Niger . She was at the time the secretary to the then Governor General Lord Fredrick Lugard. Nigeria remained a colony of Britain and gained her independence on 1st October 1960. She became a republic having her own head of state on 1st October 1963.

National Anthem of Nigeria

The Nigerian national anthem has no official name but the first phrase “Arise o’compatriots” makes it an unmistakable fact that it belongs only to Nigeria and no other.

Land Mass of Nigeria

Nigeria’s total land mass area is 923,768 square kilometers which no other country in world has. So if by chance you ever had to answer the question of which country has that land mass size, you know it’s Nigeria.

Nigerian Agriculture

While naturally like most African countries, Nigeria has a large segment of its population engaged in subsistence Agriculture we’re however very prominent in producing certain food crops such as Yam, Cassava and Oil palm more than any other country in Africa.

Mineral Resources in Nigeria

Petroleum and diverse solid mineral resources are abundant in Nigeria. Nigeria has more natual resources in total than any other country in the world.

Population of Nigeria

The population of Nigeria is nearly 165 million according to World Bank estimates for 2012. Nigeria is among the top 10 most populous countries in the world.

Education Facts in Nigeria

At least 54% of Nigeria’s population is functionally literate. Most of the educated Nigerians reside in the urban areas; state capitals and major towns where they’re either employed formally in government or private sector or work as skilled experts.

Nigerian Language and Cultures

There are 3 dominant ethnic groups in Nigeria; Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba but hundreds of other minority ethnic group and there are at least 250 of them with over 200 known languages spoken. Officially English is the language of commerce but other local languages are spoken as well in various parts of the country.

Religions in Nigeria

There are two main religions; Islam (50%) and Christianity (40%) with the former being the dominant religion in Northern Nigeria and vice versa. Indigenous religious practices are in the minority roughly 10%.

Nigerian Weather and Climate

The climate of Nigeria is warm most of the year in the south but hot in the North especially North East and North West. There are two seasons; dry season which runs mostly through November to April and rainy season which runs from April to September with heavy rainfalls recorded in the south. The hammattan season which usually ushers in the dry season is characterized by cold, dry and dusty weather and happens all over the country usually in late November or early December.

Bonus Fact

Nigerian Local Time

Nigeria is not divided into various time zones unlike some countries with large land masses. The local time is one hour ahead of Green Witch Mean Time (GMT) which places her in the same time zone as some western European countries.

http://www.abujafood.com/lifestyle/travel-a-tourism/1159-10-facts-about-nigeria.html