Enugu State
Enugu is a state in Nigeria's South East geopolitical zone.
- Capital
- Enugu
- Population
- 4.9M
- Total area
- 7,598 km²
- LGAs
- 17
- House Reps (total)
- 8
- IGR (2024)
- ₦180.5B
- Capital
- Enugu
- Population
- 4.9M
- 2023 estimate
- Land area
- 7,598 km²
- LGAs
- 17
- Senate seats
- 3
- IGR (2024)
- ₦180.5B
- internally generated revenue
Sub-national administrative units
Local government areas (17)
17 constitutional tier-3 units
Geopolitical synthesis
Enugu in the federation
Enugu is a state in Nigeria's South East geopolitical zone.
Bordering territories & maritime boundaries
- Land bordersAbia, Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Kogi
Quick facts
- Date created
- 1991
- Known as
- Coal City State
- Population
- ~4,900,000
- Climate classification
- Tropical Wet & Dry / Savanna
- LGAs
- 17
- Distance to Abuja
- 261 km
Languages, stories and places to explore
Languages spoken
Major cities
Enugu · Nsukka · Awgu
What to explore · learn
Enugu's nickname comes from the coal deposits discovered in 1909 that turned it into Nigeria's first major coal-mining industrial centre.
Enugu briefly served as the capital of the breakaway Republic of Biafra during the early phase of the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War.
The Odo festival, in which masks are said to bring the dead back among the living, is held every two years in Ngwo (Udi), Ebe, Ezeagu and parts of Nsukka.
biennialNgwoNsukkaEzeaguThe Federal Ministry of Information lists a masquerade festival held in Enugu each November to usher in the new yam.
Nov · annual
Cultural groups & homelands
Nsukka Igbo
7 LGAsThe Igbo communities of northern Enugu State, centred on Nsukka.
Udi, Awgu and Oji River area
5 LGAsIgbo communities of the western Enugu escarpment, including the Ngwo clan associated with the Odo festival.
Nkanu
2 LGAsNkanu Igbo communities south of Enugu.
Major celebrations
- biennialNgwo · Nsukka · Ezeagu
- Nov · annual
Metro areas
Enugu Metropolis
Enugu State's capital, built around early-20th-century coal mining and once capital of the old Eastern Region and briefly of Biafra.