Abia State

Abia
State
Abia State
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  God's Own State Igbo:Ọ̀hà nke Chineke
Location of Abia State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 5°25′N 7°30′E / 5.417°N 7.500°E / 5.417; 7.500
Country	Nigeria
Date created	27 August 1991
Capital	Umuahia
Government
• Body	Government of Abia State
• Governor[1]	Alex Otti (LP)
• Deputy Governor	Ikechukwu Emetu (LP)
• Legislature	Abia State House of Assembly
• Senators	C: Austin Akobundu (PDP) N: Orji Uzor Kalu (APC) S: Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA)
• Representatives	List
Area
• Total	6,320 km2 (2,440 sq mi)
• Rank	32
Population  (2022 est)[2]
• Total	4,143,100
• Density	660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Demonym	Abians
GDP (PPP)
• Year	2021
• Total	$22.83 billion[3] 18th of 36
• Per capita	$5,351[3] 9th of 36
Time zone	UTC+01 (WAT)
Postal code	440001
Dialing Code	+234
ISO 3166 code	NG-AB
Language	English Igbo
HDI (2021)	0.644[4] medium · 8th of 37
Website	abiastate.gov.ng

Abia State (Igbo: Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the northwest by Anambra State and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to the southeast, and Rivers State to the south. Abia is the only Southeastern state that has boundaries with the other four Southeastern states in Nigeria. ^[5] It takes its name from the acronym for four of the state's most populated regions: Aba, Bende, Isuikwuato, and Afikpo (but Afikpo was later joined with a part of Enugu state to create Ebonyi state in 1996).^[6] The state capital is Umuahia while the largest city and commercial centre is Aba.^[7][8]

Abia is the 32nd largest in area and 27th most populous with an estimated population of over 3,727,347 as of 2016.^[9] Geographically, the state is divided between the Niger Delta swamp forests in the far south and the drier Cross–Niger transition forests with some savanna in the rest of the State. Other important geographical features are the Imo and Aba Rivers which flow along the Abia's western and southern borders, respectively.

Modern-day Abia State has been inhabited for years by various ethnic groups, but it is predominantly inhabited by the Igbo people. In the pre-colonial period, what is now Abia State was a part of Arochukwu-based Aro Confederacy before the confederacy was defeated in the early 1900s by British troops in the Anglo-Aro War. After the war, the British incorporated the area into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate which later merged into British Nigeria; after the merger, Abia became a centre of anti-colonial resistance with the Women's War that started in Oloko.

After independence in 1960, the Abia was a part of the post-independence Eastern Region until 1967 before the region was split and it became part of the East Central State. Less than two months afterwards, the former Eastern Region attempted to secede in the three-year long Nigerian Civil War with Abia as a part of the secessionist state of Biafra. At the war's end and for the reunification of Nigeria, the East Central State was merged as one until 1976 when Imo State (including now-Abia) was formed by the Murtala Muhammed regime. Fifteen years afterwards, Imo State was divided with eastern Imo being broken off to form the old Abia State; but in 1996, part of Abia's northeast was removed to form a part of the new Ebonyi State.^[10]

Economically, Abia State is based around the production of crude oil and natural gas along with agriculture, mainly of yams, maize, taro, oil palm, and cassava. A key minor industry is manufacturing, especially in and around Aba.^[11] With its fast growing population and industrialization, Abia has the joint-eighth highest Human Development Index in the country.^[12]