Kwara State
Kwara is a state in Nigeria's North Central geopolitical zone.
- Capital
- Ilorin
- Population
- 3.9M
- Total area
- 33,764 km²
- LGAs
- 16
- House Reps (total)
- 6
- IGR (2024)
- ₦71.2B
- Capital
- Ilorin
- Population
- 3.9M
- 2023 estimate
- Land area
- 33,764 km²
- LGAs
- 16
- Senate seats
- 3
- IGR (2024)
- ₦71.2B
- internally generated revenue
Sub-national administrative units
Local government areas (16)
16 constitutional tier-3 units
Geopolitical synthesis
Kwara in the federation
Kwara is a state in Nigeria's North Central geopolitical zone.
Bordering territories & maritime boundaries
- Land bordersEkiti, Kogi, Niger, Osun, Oyo
- International borderRepublic of Benin
Quick facts
- Date created
- 1967
- Known as
- State of Harmony
- Population
- ~3,900,000
- Climate classification
- Tropical Wet & Dry / Savanna
- LGAs
- 16
- Distance to Abuja
- 324 km
Languages, stories and places to explore
Languages spoken
Major cities
Ilorin · Offa · Omu-Aran
What to explore · learn
Kwara's nickname reflects its position as a cultural bridge between the Yoruba south and Hausa-Fulani north, with a historically peaceful record of coexistence.
Ilorin transitioned from a Yoruba town to a Fulani emirate in the early 19th century after the Sokoto Jihad, giving Kwara's capital a distinctive blended Yoruba-Hausa identity found almost nowhere else in Nigeria.
The Emir of Ilorin heads the Ilorin Emirate, founded in the 1820s, which fused Yoruba and Fulani-Hausa traditions.
IlorinThe Etsu Patigi is the Nupe ruler of Patigi on the Niger River.
PatigiPatigi hosts a river regatta on the Niger, one of Kwara's best-known cultural events.
annualPatigi
Cultural groups & homelands
Igbomina and Ekiti (Kwara)
5 LGAsIgbomina and Ekiti-Yoruba communities of southern Kwara State.
Baruba (Borgu, Kwara)
2 LGAsBaruba (Bariba/Baatonu) and related Borgu communities in the north-west of Kwara State, continuous with the Borgu region of Benin Republic.
Nupe (Kwara)
2 LGAsNupe communities along the Niger River in northern Kwara State, seat of the Etsu Patigi.
Major celebrations
- annualPatigi
Cultural institutions
The Emir of Ilorin heads the Ilorin Emirate, founded in the 1820s, which fused Yoruba and Fulani-Hausa traditions.
Ilorin
The Etsu Patigi is the Nupe ruler of Patigi on the Niger River.
Patigi
Metro areas
Ilorin Metropolis
The three LGAs forming Ilorin, Kwara State's capital and a historic frontier emirate between Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani Nigeria.