Full List of Nigeria’s Neighboring Countries

 

Nigeria is bounded  by four neighboring African countries that it shares various boundaries with. These countries include: Republic of Benin whose boundary is in Southwestern border, Cameroon linked to Cross River in the South -South region of Nigeria, Chad to the Northeast and Niger respectively.

 

List of Nigeria’s Neighboring Countries that Share Land Boundaries

Below are the countries that share land boundaries with Nigeria.

 

REPUBLIC OF BENIN

This is a small African country near Nigeria that was formerly called Dahomey. It shares boundaries with Burkina Faso, Togo and Niger Republic. Benin was colonized by France until its independence when the name was changed from Dahomey to the Republic of Benin in 1991.

Its capital, Porto ­Novo is said the area where business thrives but Cotonou is the location of the seat of authority of the sovereign state and its largest city. The population of the state is very small when compared to other nations in Africa estimated at about 10.9 million persons living in Benin.

Most of its citizens live around the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin which stretches from the Gulf of Guinea near the Atlantic Ocean. Economically wise, Agriculture is the country’s major source of revenue generation.

In fact, most jobs in the country are centered on farming.

The official language of Benin is French but the native languages spoken in this country is Fon and Yoruba respectively. The religion that has been dominant in the country is Christianity (Roman Catholicism), while other religions like the Muslims, traditional worshipers and Protestant Christians are also present.

 

CHAD

The Republic of Chad is another country that borders Nigeria. The country is centrally located in Africa precisely in Central Africa. Chad is bordered by Libya toward the north, Sudan toward the east, the Central African Republic toward the south, Cameroon and Nigeria toward the southwest, and Niger toward the west.

In terms of land mass, Chad is the fifth largest country in the continent. The country is named after the well-known Lake Chad which borders in between the country and Nigeria. The capital of Chad is N’Djamena and it is the largest city in the country. The greater part of Chadians is Muslims and they share a relationship with some tribes in northern Nigeria.

Additionally, these individuals share comparative ethnic groups and social legacy. They are firmly related by occupation, especially the nomadic cattle rearing. Looking more at the people of Chad, it can be seen that they have a diverse ethnicity just like Nigeria. The country is home to more than 200 diverse ethnic groups. The official languages in Chad are Arabic and French. There are about 55% of Muslims making the Chad population while 40% are Christians.

Moreover, Chad was colonized by France in 1920 and they acquired independence in 1960 under the government of François Tombalbaye. Sadly, a significant part of Chad’s population lives in poverty and a lot of them are displaced due to this reason and insecurity issues.

 

CAMEROON

Cameroon is also among Nigeria’s neighboring country that shares boundaries with Chad to the Northeast, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo. On the African map, Cameroon’s coastline forms part of the Gulf of Guinea and lies on the Bight of Biafra.

History has it that Cameroon was colonized by Germany, France and even Britain. It was until 1961, a year after Nigeria got her independence that Cameroon became independent.

The official languages spoken by Cameroonians are mostly French and English aside their local dialect. Citizens of this country are mostly farmers and Christianity and other African religions are practiced by its inhabitants. Note that Cameroon is a sovereign nation with extreme cultural diversity. Some of the tourist attractions in this country range from beaches, mountains, deserts, rain­forests, and tropical savannas. Mount Cameroon is the highest mountain in this country and Douala is the economical threshold of the country.

The capital of Cameroon is Yaoundé while the popular Bakassi peninsula which shares boundary with Nigeria is the region that has caused a lot of frictions with these two neighboring African countries.

 

NIGER REPUBLIC

Nigeria borders Niger in the north. The country is formally known as the Republic of Niger, and it got its name from River Niger which runs through the country. Niger Republic is bordered by Libya toward the upper east, Chad toward the east, Nigeria and Benin toward the south, Burkina Faso and Mali toward the west, and Algeria toward the northwest.

The capital city of Niger is Niamey, which is the most developed city in the country. Niger is very close to Nigeria, especially the northern parts. This closeness has allowed these people to have a comparative lifestyle for a very long time. They are of similar ethnic groups and have similar customs and traditions.

Most Nigerians are Muslims and they are ranchers whose aptitude is mostly in cattle rearing.

The people of Niger have cross boundary marriages, family ties and method of dressing and geologically they have a similar regional territory. With a land area of 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), Niger is the largest country in West Africa. Be that as it may, more than 80% of its land region lies in the Sahara Desert.

The country’s population is around 21 million and is found in high concentration in the far south and west of the country. Niger is a very poor country and it has been positioned near the lower part of the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI). Starting in 2015, the country was positioned 187th of 188 countries. An overwhelming part of the population lives in provincial areas, and has little admittance to high level education. This has made the country to be lagging behind in terms of education in the world scene.

In conclusion, we have been able to give a detailed list of the countries sharing land boundaries with Nigeria. This includes Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger Republic.