Last updated on January 22nd, 2023 at 07:27 pm
Nigeria has a land area of 923,768 km² with its administrative headquarters in Abuja while Lagos state remains its commercial capital since the capital was moved from the most populated state to Abuja on December 12, 1991.
With the 36 states and the FCT sharing the 923,768 km² landmass, the land area of each of the states has not transformed to economic value, most times they even become problematic to the state government.
According to a report, a land portion of Nigeria remains ungoverned, thereby giving the criminal elements a free day to perpetrate their evils.
The table below shows the 36 states in Nigeria and their rank in order of landmass:
| Nigerian States | Land Area | Ranking |
| Niger | 76,363km² | 1 |
| Borno | 70,898km² | 2 |
| Taraba | 54,473km² | 3 |
| Bauchi | 49,119km² | 4 |
| Kaduna | 46,053km² | 5 |
| Yobe | 45,502km² | 6 |
| Zamfara | 39,762km² | 7 |
| Adamawa | 36,917km² | 8 |
| Kwara | 36,825km² | 9 |
| Kebbi | 36,800km² | 10 |
| Benue | 34,059km² | 11 |
| Plateau | 30,913km² | 12 |
| Kogi | 29,833km² | 13 |
| Oyo | 28,454km² | 14 |
| Nasarawa | 27,117km² | 15 |
| Sokoto | 25,973km² | 16 |
| Katsina | 24,192km² | 17 |
| Jigawa | 23,154km² | 18 |
| Cross River | 20,156km² | 19 |
| Kano | 20,131km² | 20 |
| Gombe | 18,768km² | 21 |
| Edo | 17,802km² | 22 |
| Delta | 17,698km² | 23 |
| Ogun | 16,762km² | 24 |
| Ondo | 15,500km² | 25 |
| Rivers | 11,077km² | 26 |
| Bayelsa | 10,773km² | 27 |
| Osun | 9,251km² | 28 |
| Enugu | 7,161km² | 29 |
| Akwa Ibom | 7,081km² | 30 |
| Ekiti | 6,353km² | 31 |
| Abia | 6,320km² | 32 |
| Ebonyi | 5,670km² | 33 |
| Imo | 5,530km² | 34 |
| Anambra | 4,844km² | 35 |
| Lagos | 3,345km² | 36 |
Interesting facts about the land area among states:
Lagos which is the smallest state in Nigeria in terms of landmass is the most populated and has the highest Internally Generated Revenue.
Not just that, Lagos has the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2020, according to data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The only South-South state that made the top 20 largest states in Nigeria is Cross River with 20,156 km²; popularly called CR, it is one of the richest states in Nigeria in terms of economic endowments.
Sadly, the top five largest states in Nigeria are faced with either terrorism or banditry or one form of criminality that has displaced thousands of residents
Zamfara which is the seventh-largest state in Nigeria in terms of land area, interestingly, controls a larger land area than Sokoto State, from which it was created in 1996.
Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has a land area of 7,315km2 meaning Abuja (which was carved out of the present-day Niger State) is bigger than Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, and Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city.
