List of Nigerian cities by population in the context of "Ibadan"

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 sq mi). With a population of more than 236 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.

Nigeria has been home to several indigenous material cultures, pre-colonial states and kingdoms since the second millennium BC. The Nok culture, c. 1500 BC, marks one of the earliest known civilisations in the region. The Hausa Kingdoms inhabited the north, with the Edo Kingdom of Benin in the south, Igbo Kingdom of Nri in the southeast and in the southwest, the Oyo Empire. The present day territory of Nigeria was home to a vast array of city-states. In the early 19th century the Fula jihads culminated in the Sokoto Caliphate. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures and incorporated traditional monarchs as a form of indirect rule. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of military dictatorships and democratically elected civilian governments until achieving a stable government in the 1999 Nigerian presidential election.

Kano (Ajami: كَنُواْ) is a city in northern Nigeria and the capital of Kano State. It is the second largest city in Nigeria after Lagos, with over four million citizens living within 449 km (173 sq mi). Located in the savanna, south of the Sahel, Kano is a major route of the trans-Saharan trade, having been a trade and human settlement for millennia. It is the traditional state of the Dabo dynasty who have ruled as emirs over the city-state since the 19th century. Kano Emirate Council is the current traditional institution inside the city boundaries of Kano, and under the authority of the Government of Kano State.

The city is one of the seven medieval Hausa kingdoms. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa and Fulani people. Centuries before British colonization, Kano was strongly cosmopolitan with settled populations of Arab, Tuareg, Kanuri and remains so with the Hausa language spoken as a lingua-franca by over 70 million speakers in the region.

Kano State (Hausa: Jihar Kano جِهَرْ كَنُوَ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1967 out of the former Northern Region, Kano State borders Katsina State to the northwest for about 210 km (130 miles), Jigawa State to the northeast for 355 km (221 miles), Bauchi State to the southeast for 131 km (82 miles), and Kaduna State to the southwest for 255 km (158 miles). The state's capital and largest city is Kano, the second most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos. The incumbent governor of the state is Abba Kabir Yusuf. He was sworn in on 29 May 2023.

Modern-day Kano State was the site of a number of prior kingdoms and empires, including the Kingdom of Kano, which was centred on Dalla Hill (Hausa: Dutsen Dala) and existed from to 1000  to 1349 CE. In 1349, the Sultanate of Kano was established with Yaji I as its first Sultan. In the 15th century, Kurmi Market was opened, which helped the city of Kano become a centre of commercial activity in Hausaland. The market remains open today and its historic importance is reflected in the state's nickname, the Centre of Commerce.

Kaduna (Hausa: Jihar Kaduna, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; Fula: Leydi Kaduna, 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤣𞤵𞤲𞤢; Tyap: Si̱tet Ka̱duna) is a state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna, which was the 8th largest city in the country as of 2006. Created in 1967 as North-Central State, which also encompassed the modern Katsina State, Kaduna State achieved its current borders in 1987. Kaduna State is the fourth largest and third most populous state in the country, Kaduna State is nicknamed the Centre of Learning, owing to the presence of numerous educational institutions of importance within the state such as Ahmadu Bello University, Nigerian Defence Academy, Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Kaduna Polytechnic, etc.

Modern Kaduna State is home to the sites of some of Africa's oldest civilizations, including the Nok civilization that prospered from c. 1500 BC to c. 500 AD. In the 9th century, geographer and historian Ya'qubi documented the existence of the Hausa Kingdoms, which existed until the region was incorporated into the Sokoto Caliphate in the early 1800s. During the colonial era, the city of Kaduna was made the capital of Northern Nigeria Protectorate by British leadership.

Edo is a state in Nigeria. Located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state was ranked as the 8th most populous state (7,250,000) in Nigeria, in 2024. In 2021, the estimated state population is around 6,777,000. Edo State is the 21st largest state by landmass in Nigeria. The state's capital, Benin City, is the fourth largest city in Nigeria and the centre of the country's rubber industry. Created in 1991 from the former Bendel State, it is also known as the heartbeat of the nation. Edo State borders Kogi State to the north for 133 km and across the Niger River for 81 km to the northeast, Anambra State to the east for about four km across the Niger River, Delta State to the southeast and south for 350 km (218 miles), and Ondo State to the west.

The modern borders of Edo State encompass regions that were formerly the site of various empires and kingdoms of the second dynasty formed in the 11th century AD, the Benin Empire. The ancient city of Edo, the site of modern-day Benin City, was home to some of the largest earthworks in the world. In 1897, the British Empire conducted a punitive expedition and invasion of the region, destroying most of the ancient city of Edo and incorporating the territory into what would become the Southern Nigeria Protectorate.

Benin City serves as the capital and largest metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in southern Nigeria. It ranks as the fourth-most populous city in Nigeria, according to the 2006 national census, preceded by Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan.

Port Harcourt (Pidgin: Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa) is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the oil rich Niger Delta region. As of 2023, Port Harcourt's urban population is approximately 3,480,000. The population of the metropolitan area of Port Harcourt is almost twice its urban area population with a 2015 United Nations estimate of 2,344,000. In 1950, the population of Port Harcourt was 59,752. Port Harcourt has grown by 150,844 since 2015, which represents a 4.99% annual change.

The colonial administration of Nigeria created the port to export coal from the collieries of Enugu located 243 kilometres (151 mi) north of Port Harcourt, to which it was linked by a railway called the Eastern Line, also built by the British.