Nigeria
Nigeria is a western African country of roughly 238.6M people, covering 923,769 km² with its capital at Abuja. Its economy is worth about $363B in nominal terms, anchored by oil, fintech, entertainment.
- Population
- 238.6M
- Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects - Capital
- Abuja
- GDP
- $363B
- Area
- 923,769 km²
- Currency
- Naira
Map
Overview
Nigeria is a western African country of roughly 238.6M people, covering 923,769 km² with its capital at Abuja. Its economy is worth about $363B in nominal terms, anchored by oil, fintech, entertainment.
Government
Nigeria operates as a federal republic. Independence: 1960. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Abuja.
Economy
Nominal GDP is approximately $363B, or around $1,521 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Naira. Leading sectors are oil, fintech, entertainment.
Population
Nigeria has a projected population, 2026 of 238,643,151 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 258 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.
Cities
The largest urban centres are Lagos, Kano, Ibadan. Abuja serves as the seat of government.
History
Modern Nigeria took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1960. Our History section covers each period in depth.
Languages
Widely used languages include English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.
Culture
Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Nigeria form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.
Education
Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.
Healthcare
Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Nigeria's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.
Business
Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Nigeria. See our Business section for sector reporting.
Investment
Investors typically look at oil, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.
Tourism
Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.
Transportation
Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.
Infrastructure
Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Nigeria's growth outlook.
Statistics
Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.
Frequently asked questions
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