Overview

With an area of 356,669 square miles (923,768 square kilometers), Nigeria's size approximately equals the combined areas of New Mexico, Arizona and California. A coastal state on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, Nigeria is bounded by Niger to the north, Benin to the west, Cameroon to the east and southeast, and Chad to the northeast.

The November 1991 population census put Nigeria's population at 88,514,501. Nigeria's population is extremely diverse—more than 250 ethnic groups are identified. Ten ethnic groups account for 80 percent of Nigeria's population. English is the official language; however, Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa represent the principal languages, joined by Kanuri, Fulani, Nupe, Tiv, Edo, Ijaw and Ibibio. Like many other African countries, the distribution of religion can be broken down into three major areas: Christians, Muslims, and animists. In Nigeria, 47 percent of the population practice Islam, while about 36 percent practice Christianity, and...