Located in West Africa, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous worldwide. Thanks to its natural resources, especially oil, its economy is among the fastest growing in the world. From 1901 until its independence in 1960, Nigeria was a British colony. Great Britain decided to grant Nigeria its independence because after World War II Nigeria’s economy was very poor. Comprised of over 250 ethnic groups, as well as a population that is split religiously between mostly Muslims and Christians, Nigeria is faced with many social, economic, cultural, and political challenges.
Nigeria, being the largest populated country in Africa, has many problems with population growth, diseases, particularly AIDS, and racial differences affecting its society. According to the CIA World Factbook, Nigeria’s population of has reached about 155,215,573 with a growth rate of about 3.3% The first census in 1952 reported a population of about 31.7 million. There has been some debate regarding the accuracy of the census since then because of fighting and diseases, but it is obvious that the population has drastically grown. In Nigeria there are between 250 and 400 ethnic groups .Because of this, there are bound to be problems between them. Interethnic relations were commonly untrustworthy, discriminative, and on occasion, violent. Diseases like AIDS, HIV, malaria, and yellow fever have placed great strain on Nigeria’s population and healthcare system. But even with the diseases the amount of people continues to grow. In 1985 there were a few people with AIDS but the government didn’t make much of it, and now there are many problems in Nigeria with AIDS.
Historically, Nigeria’s economy has relied heavily on agriculture. Unfortunately since 1971, due to a lack of focus on the primary sector, specifically agriculture, which had been an important part of the GDP, had quickly decreased from 48.23 percent in 1971, to almost 21 percent in
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