Top 10 Richest States in Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous black nation. This is why it was dubbed the giant of Africa. There are 36 states in Nigeria, and in this economic times, some states are managing to pull through, while some others are almost totally dependent on Federal Government revenue to run.

There are many ways to find out how rich a state or a country is.  One is through there internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and their expenditure, another way is through the GDP. Since the GDP is usually the index used for such calculations by financial bodies, we’ll also use the GDP of Nigerian states to come up with the top ten richest states.

Ten Richest States in Nigeria

Starting from the least rich state, we have:

10. Kaduna State

This state is situated in the North Central and they have one of the largest populations of Christians in the Northern part of the country. It is said that the name Kaduna is a corrupted version of the Gbayyi, one of the major tribes in Kaduna State. The major sources of revenue for Kaduna include the agricultural sector and then industries. In the Northern region it is has one of the stable states as per security and religious tolerance. This in itself is an attraction for investors. The GDP for Kaduna state is $10.334 billion.

9. Ogun State

This is one of the biggest states in the South West and it almost surrounds Lagos, bordering her on two sides. Ogun state has a huge land area; therefore, it is a haven for factories, farms and also real estate developers. Ogun has some of the largest factories in Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Lafarge Cement, Indomie and many other companies both small and large have their factories here. As Lagos keeps developing people seek cheaper residence in Ogun state, even while they work in Lagos. The major sources of income for Ogun are agriculture and factories. The total GDP for Ogun is $10.470 billion.

8. Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom is an oil producing state located in the South South part of Nigeria. There are four senatorial districts in Akwa Ibom, which also doubles as the main ethnic groups or perhaps languages. They are Oron, Eket, Ibibio and Annang. The funny thing about these four languages is that they sound very alike to one who doesn’t speak any of the four languages. And those who are from one senatorial district may only speak the language of their territorial district, but they do understand the other 3. Uyo, the state’s capital is home to the most beautiful stadium in Nigeria. It has a GDP of $11.179 billion

7. Edo State

During the Era of Oshiomole, the Okpekpe road race started. It was an international athletic events, which saw some of the world’s best long distance runners participating. Edo state has a rich cultural heritage, and the Bini Kingdom is situated in this state. I guess that’s where the capital of the state got its name from.

It also has some tourism sites which include Ise Lake, and Niger beach. It’s GDP is $11.888.

6. Kano State

Mallam Sanusi Lamido, the former CBN governor is now the Emir of Kano, of course the Emirate exceeds the political Kano itself. As at the 2006 census, Kano state had the largest population in the country. There major exports include Chilli pepper, hides, garlic and cotton. GDP is $12.393.

5. Imo State

This is another very small state in Nigeria by land mass; it is one of the most erosion prone states in Nigeria.  The governor of Imo is Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and it is the only state in the South East and South South, with an APC governor. Imo state lacks factories, but they make up for it in the number of students and higher institutions of learning they have. 5 government higher institutions, and one private polytechnic. Imo shares a boundary with Rivers state, and the boundary local governments, Ohanji-Ebgema have oil. There is also oil at Uguta LGA. Foreign corporations like Addax, Shell and Agip just to name a few drill the oil. The Total GDP of Imo state is $14 billion.

4. Oyo State

The capital of Oyo state is Ibadan, and it happens to be the largest city in West Africa. In the 60s and 70s Oyo was characterised by factories and farms, but this doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. The tyre factories and the large Cocoa farms are all but gone. Oyo still does a lot of farming till today though, and they also have perhaps the largest number of farm settlements in Nigeria. Majority of the agricultural institutes in Nigeria are situated in Oyo state. They plant rice, yam, plantain and many other crops, which they sell to neighbouring states in Nigeria. Oyo is located in South Western Nigeria, and the GDP of the state is $16billion.

3. Delta State

This state is home to a lot of ethnic groups, in Delta you’ll find Igbos, Urhobos, Ijaws, Itshekiris and many other tribes. They are regarded as a South South state though, but ideally, it can be described as being between the South East and South South. You have the Igbo speakers at Ogwashiki and Agbor, which is toward Onitsha in Anambra State. Warri is the most popular city in this state, and it is here and in Sapele that most of the oil workers stay. Delta’s GDP is $16.179 billion.

2. Rivers State

This is one oil rich state, and it has many rivers in it, no wonder it is called rivers state. It shares boundary with Imo, Abia and Bayelsa. It produces more than 60% of Nigeria’s oil. This is one reason why this state is rich. In fact in we are to go by Internally generated revenue plied against debt, it is richer than Lagos. $21billion is the GDP of this state.

1. Lagos State

This is the center of excellence and Africa’s commercial capital. There are not many oil deposits in this state, but it thrives on industry and commerce. Lagos is one of the most investment friendly states in Nigeria, though about the smallest in Land area, it has the second largest population in Nigeria (according to 2006 census figures). The GDP of Lagos is $91 billion. The government of Lagos is doing all it can to provide infrastructure and jobs for its citizens. It is the fifth largest economy in Africa, and the state aims at becoming the third largest economy in Africa, by 2020.

These are the richest states in Nigeria at the moment. It would seem as though the GDP of Lagos is far above that of other states, this is true and also not so true. First of all, the GDP figures of all the states on this list except Lagos were collated in 2007. In 2010, it was published on Wikipedia and up until now this is what is available in the public domain. This is to tell you that many of these states probably have not reviewed their GDP in recent times. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Lagos is its 2016 figures.

It actually crashed from the 2015 numbers due to the fall of the Naira against the Dollar. It tells you that Lagos is really committed to its financial growth. Lagos has one of the largest debts in the country, but we know they have the means to pay up. So that’s not a cause for worry.

From the available data, Lagos is the richest country in Nigeria. If and when newer data is made available, there will be some changes, for one Anambra state will come on the list. For a while now, they have been exporting vegetable to the U.S. Some other states too have increased their IGR. As earlier stated, with the available information Lagos is currently the richest state in Nigeria.