Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom State
State
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  Land of Promise, Akwa Abasi Ibom state
Location of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria
Coordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5.000°N 7.833°E / 5.000; 7.833
Country	Nigeria
Date created	23 September 1987
Capital	Uyo
Government
• Body	Government of Akwa Ibom State
• Governor	Pastor Umo Eno (PDP)
• Deputy Governor	Akon Eyakenyi
• Legislature	Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly
• Senators	NE: Aniekan Bassey (PDP) NW: Godswill Akpabio (APC) S: Ekong Sampson (PDP)
• Representatives	List
Area
• Total	7,081 km2 (2,734 sq mi)
• Rank	30 of 36
Population  (2016)[1]
• Total	5,450,758
• Rank	15 of 36
• Density	770/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Akwa Ibomite
GDP (PPP)
• Year	2021
• Total	$50.30 billion[2] 3rd of 36
• Per capita	$7,739[2] 4th of 36
Time zone	UTC+01 (WAT)
Dialing Code	+234
ISO 3166 code	NG-AK
HDI (2021)	0.608[3] medium · 17th of 37
Website	akwaibomstate.gov.ng

Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny.^[4] Akwa Ibom was split from Cross River State in 1987 with her capital Uyo and with 31 local government areas.

Of the 36 states, Akwa Ibom is the 30th largest in area and fifteenth most populous with an estimated population of nearly 5.5 million as of 2016.^[5] Geographically, the state is divided between the Central African mangroves in the coastal far south and the Cross–Niger transition forests in the rest of the state. Other important geographical features are the Imo and Cross rivers which flow along Akwa Ibom's eastern and western borders, respectively while the Kwa Ibo River bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. In the southeast corner of the state is the Stubb Creek Forest Reserve, a heavily threatened wildlife reserve that contains declining crocodile, putty-nosed monkey, red-capped mangabey, and Sclater's guenon populations along with potentially extirpated populations of African leopard and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee.^[6][7][8][9] Offshore, the state is also biodiverse as there are large fish populations along with various cetacean species including bottlenose dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, humpback whales, and killer whales.^{[citation needed]}

Modern-day Akwa Ibom State has been inhabited by various ethnic groups for hundreds of years, primarily the closely related Ibibio, Annang, and Oron peoples in the North-East, North-West, and Southern zones of the state, respectively.^[10]

Economically, Akwa Ibom State is based around the production of crude oil and natural gas as highest oil-producing state in the country.^[11] Key minor industries involve agriculture as the state has substantial cocoyam, yam, and plantain crops along with fishing and heliciculture. Despite its vast oil revenues, Akwa Ibom has the seventeenth highest Human Development Index in the country in large part due to years of systemic corruption.^[12][13][14]