Country · Africa
Nigeria
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Nigeria is a country in Western Africa. About 195.9 million people live there, in an area of 923 768 square kilometres. Its capital city is Abuja.
Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991, a city built in the middle of the country for the purpose. Lagos stayed the largest city.
Picture credit: Victor Salami Oyale (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Ovinuchi Prince Ejiohuo (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Nigeria?
Nigeria lies in Western Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 113 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 853 km long.
It shares a border with 4 countries: Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
How big is Nigeria?
Nigeria covers 923 768 square kilometres.
That is about 9 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 31st largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 212 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Nigeria?
About 195.9 million people live in Nigeria.
That is the 7th biggest population in the world.
People here speak English.
They pay with the Nigerian naira (₦).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 52 years.
The land of Nigeria
The land of Nigeria sits on average 380 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 853 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 43 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Nigeria different?
A dish the country is known for: Jollof rice.
Websites from here often end in .ng.
Nigeria and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 26 live in Nigeria.
It takes up about 0.69 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 14th of 54 by size, and the first by population.
Nigeria and its neighbours
Chad, its largest neighbour, is about 1.4 times bigger.
More people live in Nigeria than in Chad — 195.9 million against 15.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 6 live wild in Nigeria: Chimpanzee, Emperor scorpion, American cockroach, Olive baboon, Ball python and Nile monitor. The highest mountain in the country is Chappal Waddi, at 2 419 metres. The longest river in the country is the Niger. The largest lake in the country is Lake Chad.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Nigeria compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 10 times as big as Nigeria: 9 372 610 km² against 923 768 km². See both on one map
- Nigeria is about 3.8 times as big as the United Kingdom: 923 768 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Nigeria?
The capital of Nigeria is Abuja.
How many people live in Nigeria?
About 195.9 million people live in Nigeria, which makes it the 7th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Nigeria?
How big is Nigeria?
Nigeria covers 923 768 square kilometres, making it the 31st largest country in the world. That is about 9 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in Nigeria?
The highest mountain in Nigeria is Chappal Waddi, 2 419 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Nigeria?
The longest river in Nigeria is the Niger. Of its 4 200 kilometres, about 1 600 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Nigeria?
The largest lake in Nigeria is Lake Chad. The whole lake covers about 2 000 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Nigeria in?
Nigeria is in Africa, in the part called Western Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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