Thursday, July 23, 2009

Random Facts About Nigeria



-Most populous African country, with over 130 million people (and about the size of 2 Californias)

-Gained independence from the UK in 1960

-Three main ethnicities/tribes are Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa (although there are over 200 tribes with their own languages)

-Official language is English (although many in Jos speak Hausa; 'sannu' means hello)

-Three religions are Christianity, Islam, and Animist

-Jos lies at the border between northern Africa’s Muslims and southern Africa’s Christians (hence the deep tensions and occasional violence between the two)

-Capital city is Abuja (where we fly in and out), about a 3-4 hour car ride away from Jos

-Faith Alive is in Jos (with a population of more than 1 million people)

-Largest city is Lagos (near the oil fields, where there are travel warnings. We stay away from Lagos!)

-Monetary unit is Naira. Current rate: $1 = 148 Naira

-Majority of Nigerians live on less than $1 per day

-Main resources (other than great people!) include oil, ground nuts (peanuts), cocoa, and palm oil


-A leading cause of death is car accidents

-HIV/AIDS rates estimated to be about 5% of the general population (and around 70% of Faith Alive patients)

-Favorite sport by far is ‘football’ (our soccer)

-Time there is currently 7 hours ahead of Mountain Standard Time. Unofficial ‘Nigerian time’ means 'whenever'!

-A recent report of all countries lists Nigerians as having the happiest index rating

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