NIGERIA : LOCATION, POSITION, SIZE & POLITICAL DIVISIONS

Location: Nigeria lies within latitudes 4° and 14°N (I.e it has a latitudinal stretch of 10°), and longitudes
3° and 15°E (longitudinal stretch of 12°). Its longitude is to the east of the Prime Meridian and the time
difference is only of one hour ahead from the Greenwich Mean Time.

Located in Western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, it has a total area of 923,768 km2 (356,669 sq mi),
making it the world's 32nd-largest country in land mass. It is comparable in size to Venezuela, and is
about twice the size of the U.S. state of California. Its borders span 4,047 kilometres (2,515 mi), and
shares borders with Benin republic to the west, Niger & Chad to the North, Cameroon to the east and
the Atlantic ocean to the South. Its coastline is at least 853 km (530 mi).

SIZE AND POLITICAL DIVISION

Nigeria is an agglomeration of distinctive regions, including deserts, plains, swamps, mountains, and
steamy jungles and has one of the largest river systems in the world, including the Niger Delta. It is
located within the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. The latitude of Nigeria falls within the tropical zone
but the climatic conditions are not entirely tropical in nature. The climatic condition varies in most parts
of the country, in the north the climatic condition is arid and to the south there is an equatorial type of
climate
Often called the "Giant of Africa", this name comes from the vastness of its land, the diversity of its
peoples and languages, its huge population (the largest in Africa), and its oil and other natural resources

Political Division

Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja. Nigeria is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of
Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north.

Population: population wise, Nigeria is estimated to be 206,139,589- (7the largest population in the
world- 2020 estimate) consisting of 53.5% Islam, 45.9% Christianity 0.6% Traditional African religions.

The modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and took its
present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria
Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Frederick Lugard.