Local short name form

Official name

Area

Population

Capital

Currency

International telephone access code

ISO 3166 country codes

Car nationality plate code

Internet country code

GRC Country Code

   Note: This section last updated 27th May 2021

In Fula (Fulfulde), Adlam script:

(where indicates the decimal separator and the thousands separator). Numbers in Adlam are written from right to left.

In Fula (Fulfulde), Latin script:

   1 234,45

(where , indicates the decimal separator and a space the thousands separator)

In Atsam, English, Hausa, Igbo, Jju, Tyap and Yoruba:

   1,234.45

(where . indicates the decimal separator and , the thousands separator)

   Note: This section last updated 27th May 2021

In Fula (Fulfulde) (Adlam script) and Hausa (Arabic script):

   yyyy-mm-dd

In Fula (Fulfulde) (Latin script), English, Hausa (Latin script), Igbo and Yoruba:

   dd/mm/yyyy

In Atsam, Jju and Tyap:

   yyyy/mm/dd

In all languages:

   14:32   

The national language is English . 477 other languages are spoken, with a complex geographical spread. The most widely spoken are: Anaang (1 000 000 speakers); Ebira (1 000 000 speakers); Edo (1 000 000 speakers); Fulfulde (7 611 000 speakers); Hausa (an official language in the North) (18 525 000 speakers); Igbo (an official language in the Southeast) (17 000 000 speakers); Yerwa Kanuri (3 000 000 speakers); Tiv (2 212 000 speakers) and Yoruba (18 850 000 speakers).

English forms of address may be used, but where a person’s name is preceded by Alhaji (male) or Hajia (female), indicating that the person has been on the Haj to Mecca, the form of address is dropped (i.e., do not use “Mr” or “Mrs” together with this additional title).

Women usually take their husband’s family name upon marriage.

Yoruba people (found mainly in the south west) order their name:

   Given name[ ]Family name

Their names are often compound and often include elements such as: ade, ayo, fe, ife, ire, oba, omo, ola, olu, oluwa. Their children usually take their father’s family name, and given names often reflect the circumstances under which the child was born, such as a week day or the birth order. Some Yoruban names are not gender-specific. Their names may include Muslim components.

Igbo (Ibo) people (found mainly in the south east) order their name:

   Given name[ ]Family name

Their names are often compound and often include elements such as: amaka, mma, nma, chi, chukwu, nna, nne, nwa, new, ek, olisa. Many Igbo names are not gender-specific. People may use a Western (often Biblical) nickname.

Hausa people (found mainly in the north) order their name:

   Given name[ ]Family name

They usually include Muslim components. Family names may be compound.

   Tables of names can be acquired: given names , surnames/family names , family name prefixes , forms of address , job titles 

Company legal forms used in Nigeria include:

   Limited (Ltd)
   Limited by Guarantee (Ltd/Gte.)
   Public Limited Company (PLC)
   Unlimited (ULtd)

   Comprehensive tables of these strings can be acquired – see http:www.grcdi.nl/addresses.htm 

There should be two spaces between the postal town name and the postal code.

Addresses written in a non-native language will usually be written in English. The state name is often found in the address. The abbreviation P.M.B. (Private Mail Bag) is often used as well as P.O. Box.

   A table containing information about the relevant position of elements within address blocks can be acquired 

Nigeria introduced a postal code (known locally as Postcode) system on 24th November 2000. The codes consist of six consecutive digits, the first three being the outward sorting code (“despatch code”), the last three the inward sorting code (“delivery code”). Postal codes can commence with a number between 1 and 9.

The borders of the postal code areas correspond with the state/territory borders. The postal code (first digit) per state/territory is shown below:

State/Territory	Postal code (first digit)
Abia	4
Abuja Federal Capital Territory	9
Adamawa	6
Akwa Ibom	5
Anambra	4
Bauchi	7
Bayelsa	5
Benue	9
Borno	6
Cross River	5
Delta	3
Ebonyi	4
Edo	3
Ekiti	3
Enugu	4
Gombe	7
Imo	4
Jigawa	7
Kaduna	8
Kano	7
Katsina	8
Kebbi	8
Kogi	2
Kwara	2
Lagos	1
Nassarawa	9
Niger	9
Ogun	1
Ondo	3
Osun	2
Oyo	2
Plateau	9
Rivers	5
Sokoto	8
Taraba	6
Yobe	6
Zamfara	8

   Metadata containing postal code formatting rules, exceptions and regular expressions can be acquired 

Nigeria - Postal code format graphic

Nigeria - Postal code format

Nigeria - Postal code specifics

Nigeria - Postal code regular expression

Nigeria - Postal code level of coverage

Nigeria - Postal code map

   Note: This section last updated 3rd February 2017

Refer to Exonyms in Nigeria for full lists of place names in Nigeria in other languages.

   Alternate place name forms/postal code tables can be acquired at http://www.grcdi.nl/settlements.htm 

   Other language place name data can be acquired at http://www.grcdi.nl/otherlanguageplace.htm 

Nigeria has 36 states and 1 territory. These are listed in the postal code section above.

Administrative districts graphic

   Note: This section last updated 12th January 2024

Nigerian telephone numbers have area codes of 3 or 4 digits when called from abroad, and a total length of 10 digits. Mobile area codes are: 7021-7029, 703-706, 708-709, 71-72, 802-809, 812, 8190-8191.