Nigeria has three main
environmental
regions: savanna, tropical forests, and coastal wetlands. These
environmental
regions greatly affect the cultures of the people who live there. The
dry, open
grasslands of the savanna make cereal farming and herding a way of life
for the
Hausa and the Fulani. The wet tropical forests to the south are good
for
farming fruits and vegetables—main income producers for the Yoruba,
Igbo, and
others in this area. The small ethnic groups living along the coast,
such as
the Ijaw and the Kalabari, are forced to keep their villages small due
to lack
of dry land. Living among creeks, lagoons, and salt marshes makes
fishing and
the salt trade part of everyday life in the area.
Nigeria is
the most populous country in Africa,
the eighth most populous country in the world, and the most populous
country in the world in which the
majority of the population is black. The
population
growth rate is 3.16%. The
economy of Nigeria
is one of the fastest growing in the world. It is the third largest
economy in Africa.
It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The
life expectancy for the total population of the
Nigerian people is 55.98 years, with 54.69 years for males and 57.3
years for
females.