NIGERIA

With a population of 227 million, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation composed of 37 states with the capital, Abuja, where over 1 million reside. Nigeria is a little more than two times the size of California. There are over 520 ethnic groups with 521 languages spoken. English is the official language.

Nigeria is divided geographically along religious lines, with a Muslim dominated north and a majority Christian south. There are approximately 40 million evangelical Christians in Nigeria, a testimony to missions efforts in year’s past and a growing evangelical church.

Christians in Nigeria suffer great persecution at the hands of Islamic militant groups like Boko Haram and the Fulani militia who are affiliated with al-Qaida. They have the goal of driving Christians from the north and central regions, making Nigeria an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.

It has been recently reported that every 2 hours, a Nigerian Christian is killed for following Jesus. That’s nearly 13 people per day, 372 a month and almost 5,000 a year. In 2023 more Christians were murdered for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country in the world.

This makes Nigeria the most violent place on earth for Christians.