10 Nigerian Facts

For the next stop on our continental reading challenge I am currently reading a book called What Sunny Saw In The Flames by Nnedi Okorafor which is set in Nigeria. This intrigued me to find out more about the country, so here are some of the interesting facts I found:

1. Nigeria is the 7th most populous country in the world and is home to more than 200 million people.
2. Nigeria has the highest number of twin births. The town of Igbo-Ora is known as the ‘nation of twins’ Many Yoruba people believe their consumption of yams and okra leaves to be the cause of their high birth rate of twins.
3. The country’s film industry is known as ‘Nollywood’. It is the 2nd largest industry after Bollywood.
4. Nigeria is such a diverse country with more than 500 spoken languages.
5. Nigeria is home to the richest man in Africa called Aliko Dangote. The business consists of agriculture, cement, sugar and salt with a net worth of $12 billion.
6. Like many other African countries, some Nigerians consider the left hand to be unclean. They do not eat, shake hands or receive items with their left hand.
7. There are 2 UNESCO world heritage sites in Nigeria. The Sukur Cultural Landscape and the Osun-Osogobo Sacred Grove.
8. The life expectancy in Nigeria is just 55.2 years.
9. A Nigerian man was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.
10. The Niger River, which spans 2,600 miles, is the 3rd largest river in Africa.