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About Nigeria
The Heart of Africa
Introduction
The Federal Republic of Nigeria covers an area of 923,768 sq. km on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea. It has Benin on its Western side, Niger on the North, Chad to the north-east and Cameroon to the east and south-east. Its November 1991 census stood at 88,514,501 and has risen above 120 million currently. It is the most populated country in Africa. Its population is extremely diverse with well over 250 ethnic groups, some numbering fewer than 10,000 people. Ten ethnic groups including Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, Ibo, Kanuri, Tiv, Edo, Nupe, Ibibio and Ijaw account for nearly 80% of the total population. Most of its population is concentrated in the southern part of the country, as well as in the area of dense settlement around Kano in the north. Between the two areas is a sparsely populated middle belt.
Weather
Temperatures across the country is relatively high with a very narrow variation in seasonal and diurnal ranges (22-36°C). There are two basic seasons; wet season which lasts from April to October; and the dry season which lasts from November till March. The dry season commences with Harmattan, a dry chilly spell that lasts till February and is associated with lower temperatures, a dusty and hazy atmosphere brought about by the North-Easterly winds blowing from the Arabian peninsular across the Sahara; the second half of the dry season, February - March, is the hottest period of the year when temperatures range from 33 to 38°C. The extremes of the wet season are felt on the south-eastern coast where annual rainfall might reach a high of 330cm; while the extremes of the dry season, in aridity and high temperatures, are felt in the north, third of the land mass.
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