Mercer’s 2016 Cost of Living rankings benchmark how much a new resident in a city has to pay for products compared to New York using the US dollar as the base currency. For 2016, Abuja ranks as the 20th costliest city up 15 places from 2015 when Mercer recognized Abuja as the world’s 35th most expensive city for newly relocated citizens. One important factor driving Abuja’s cost increases is that Nigeria’s inflation rate was 15.3% in 2016 as reported by the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook.
Nigeria shipped an estimated US$32.9 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016. Highest-value Nigerian exports are largely oil and petroleum gas but also include coco beans, timber, coconuts, copper waste and aluminum according to the International Trade Centre.
Capital Facts for Abuja, Nigeria: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Aso Rock, Presidential Complex, Abuja National Mosque and National Stadium
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Abuja, Nigeria:
- Jojo Ogunnupe, footballer/soccer player (born Feb. 23, 1992)
- Lil Ice, Afro pop rapper & singer (born Sep. 3, 1997)
- Eugène Salami, footballer/soccer player (born Feb. 5, 1989 )
- Philips Tanimu Aduda, politician (born Jun. 13, 1969)
- Praise Onubiyi, footballer/soccer player (born Aug. 10, 1989)
- Steve Crown Okolo, gospel singer (unknown)
- Joseph Amajama, engineering physics teacher (unknown)
- Francis Oshorenoya David, painter (unknown)
- Chima Moneke, basketball player (born Dec. 24, 1995)
- Joy Ekuta, brain & cognitive sciences researcher (unknown)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Abuja resident: Nigerian
Population: 1,580,000 (Abuja built-up urban area)
Density: 18,161 people per square mile (7,012 per square kilometer)
Population: 2,862,174 (Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria)
Density: 1,013 people per square mile (391 per square kilometer)
Population: 186,053,386 (Nigeria)
Density: 529 people per square mile (204 per square kilometer)
Financial
GDP: US$1.089 trillion as of October 2016 (for Nigeria, per WorldsRichestCountries.com)
GDP per person: $5,853
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Abjua were unavailable.
Official currency used in Abuja: Nigerian naira
Research
Research Sources:
Atlas & Boots, The World’s Most Expensive Cities for Expats 2016. Accessed on February 16, 2017
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data). Accessed on December 5, 2016
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas. Accessed on December 5, 2016
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition. Accessed on December 5, 2016
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Euromonitor International, World’s Fastest-Growing Cities are in Asia and Africa. Accessed on July 24, 2017
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Mercer, 2016 Cost of Living Rankings. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Official Government Website, Abuja City, Nigeria. Accessed on July 24, 2017
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas – Population, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Abuja. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Wikipedia, Capital Districts and Territories. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Wikipedia, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Wikipedia, Nigeria. Accessed on July 24, 2017
Including the built-up urban areas in its vicinity, Abuja had an estimated population of 1.6 million inhabitants in 2015 living within a land area that measures 87 square miles (225 square kilometers).
Abuja is located within central Nigeria, at the heart of the country’s Federal Capital Territory. Nigeria’s central region was home to an estimated 2.9 million people in 2015, spread out over an extensive area of 2,824 square miles (7,315 square kilometers).
Nicknamed the Giant of Africa, Nigeria’s land area covers 351,649 square miles (910,768 square kilometers) with a national population count of 186.1 million inhabitants as of July 2016.
Population density is higher within Abuja’s built-up urban area with an average 18,200 Nigerians per square mile (7,000 per square kilometer).
Abuja is located near the center of a much larger Nigerian geographic entity called the Federal Capital District Urban, where density decreases significantly to an average 1,000 people per square mile (400 per square kilometer).
For Nigeria overall, population density drops to an average 529 inhabitants per square mile (204 per square kilometer).
Nigeria separated from the United Kingdom on October 1, 1960. Nigerians celebrate Independence Day (also called National Day) as a public holiday each October 1.