Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation, with some 220 million people representing a wide variety of ethnic groups and religious beliefs. English is the official language but the vast majority of the population use Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and other languages and dialects in their daily life.
It is a country of vast contrasts. People in the north are mainly Muslims, while Christianity in its many different forms dominates the southern areas. In Lagos, the nation’s economic capital, there is an increasingly prosperous middle class, while many live in abject poverty.
Britain became deeply involved in Nigeria in the 1850s and the British Navy then occupied the Lagos area in 1861. It was followed by the establishment of a British protectorate of most coastal areas in 1885. In 1900 both Northern and Southern Nigeria were declared British protectorates. On 1 January 1914, Nigeria was united as a British crown colony.
