EDITOR’S PICK:
Nigeria is a popular country in Africa and the world at large. It is known for its strong and influential people, culture, history, and economy.
1. Nigeria is a country with so many ethnic groups
Nigeria is a heterogeneous country and is home to about 250 ethnic groups. The Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, and Igbo are the major ethnic groups in Nigeria, due to their numbers across the nation.
2. Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa
This is why it is nicknamed ‘the giant of Africa’. It is estimated to have a population of about 200,000,000 people. It is also the seventh-most populated country in the world. Only China, Brazil, India, the USA, Indonesia, and Pakistan are more populated than Nigeria in the world.
3. Nigeria is a multilingual country
As expected from a country with diverse ethnicities, It comprises about 525 native languages. Although, English is the official language in Nigeria, major languages like Hausa, Yoruba, Fulani, and Igbo are prevalent in the country.
4. Nigeria has one of the largest film industries in the world
The Nigerian film industry is known as ‘Nollywood’. Nigeria boasts of the second-largest movie producer in the world, only second to Bollywood.
5. It has the largest economy in Africa
Nigeria paves the way as the biggest economy in Africa. It has the highest GDP, followed by Egypt in Africa. The agriculture, industry, and services sector are major contributors to the GDP.
6. In the United States, Nigerians are the most educated immigrants
About 60% of Nigerians in America have college degrees, which is more than the average of 30% for Americans.
7. Nigeria is the largest producer of Crude oil in Africa, and also the 8th larger exporter of crude oil in the world
It produces about 1.27 million barrels of crude oil daily. Its main export partners are the United States, India, Brazil, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. The oil sector accounts for about 10% of its GDP.
8. The richest man in Africa is from Nigeria
Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian businessman. He established his business, the Dangote group (an industrial conglomerate group that is the largest in West Africa) in 1977. His estimated net worth is about 14 billion USD. Verified sources have declared him to be the richest man in Africa.
9. Amazingly, the richest woman in Africa is also a Nigerian
Her name is Folorunso Alakija. Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman. She is involved in the fashion, oil, real estate, and printing industries. She has a net worth of one billion dollars. She’s also rated as the second most powerful woman in Africa, behind Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
FURTHER READING
10. Nigeria was named by Flora Shaw, a British Journalist who later got married to Lord Frederick Lugard
The name was coined from the river Niger in Niger State, Nigeria. The river Niger is the longest in West Africa, and the third-longest in Africa, after river Nile and river Congo.
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