NEWS: Dana Air crash in Lagos
• Nigeria is officially known as the "Federal Republic of Nigeria".
• The name "Nigeria" was taken from the Niger river that runs through the country.
• Nigeria was colonised by Britiain in the late nineteenth century right up until Nigeria reclaimed independence in 1960.
• Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world and the most populous country in Africa.
• Nigeria was listed in Goldman Sachs's "Next Eleven Economies" report.
• Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth of nations.
• Nigeria occupies a land area of 923,768 sq. km (356,669 sq mi), extending 1,127 km (700 mi) east – west and 1,046 km (650 mi) north – south.
• Nigeria shares it's border's with Chad, Cameroon, Benin, Niger and the Gulf of Guinea
• Nigeria has a coastline of some 853km
• Nigeria has the geographical co-ordinates of 7.6219° N, 6.9743° E
• The Niger River which runs right through Nigeria is the third largest river in Africa.
• Nigeria has natural resources aplenty, namely: petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc and natural gas.
• Nigeria has a varying climate, it's equitorial in the south, tropical in the center and arid in the north.
• The main climatic/environmental problems in Nigeria are deforestation, soil degradation, climate change and/or global warming.
• Nigeria has two wind currents. The harmattan comes in from the northeast , is hot and dry and is well known for the reddish dust that it carries with it, from the desert.
• Nigeria has a average rainfall of 198cm throughout the country. The rainfall varies thoughout the country though with some parts experiencing lows of 50cm and some parts experiencing highs of 430cm.
• Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 and it's constitution became law in 1999
• Nigeria is a federal republic, it is compromised of 36 states and it's Federal Capital Territory (seat iof government) is Abuja.
• The current president of Nigeria is Goodluck Jonathan, he is the Head of State as well as the head of the national executive and was elected by popular vote.
• The national symbol of Nigeria is the eagle, as seen with their football team (the Super Eagles).
• The national anthem of Nigeria is "Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey".
• In Nigeria the legal age (to do anything) is 18years.
• The people of Nigeria are affectionately known as Nigerian's
• Nigeria has over 250 different ethnic groups (culture mash-up). The most prominent are the Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibo and Tiv clan groups
• The population of Nigeria was last estimated (maybe more) at 170,123,740 (170 million).
• 40.9% of the Nigerian population is between 0 - 14 years. 55.9% is between 15 - 64 years and 3.1% is over 65 years of age.
• The world bank classifies Nigeria as a mixed economy emerging market and it also states that it has reached middle income status.
• Nigeria has a GDP of $414.5 billion.
• Nigeria is ranked 31st in the world in terms of GDP.
• Oil accounts for about 95% of Nigeria's exports and about 65% of government revenue.
• Agriculture is Nigeria's basic economic activity. It employs roughly 70% of the workforce and also accounts for 36.3% of GDP.
• Nigeria'a stock exchange (the Nigerian Stock Exchange) is the second largest in Africa).