North WestFarming is Our Pride
Zamfara State
Zamfara is a state in Nigeria's North West geopolitical zone.
- Capital
- Gusau
- Population
- 5.8M
- Total area
- 33,737 km²
- LGAs
- 14
- House Reps (total)
- 7
- IGR (2024)
- ₦25.5B
- Capital
- Gusau
- Population
- 5.8M
- 2023 estimate
- Land area
- 33,737 km²
- LGAs
- 14
- Senate seats
- 3
- IGR (2024)
- ₦25.5B
- internally generated revenue
Sub-national administrative units
Local government areas (14)
14 constitutional tier-3 units
Geopolitical synthesis
Zamfara in the federation
Zamfara is a state in Nigeria's North West geopolitical zone.
Bordering territories & maritime boundaries
- Land bordersKaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto
- International borderRepublic of Benin
Quick facts
- Date created
- 1996
- Known as
- Farming is Our Pride
- Population
- ~5,800,000
- Climate classification
- Tropical Wet & Dry / Savanna
- LGAs
- 14
- Distance to Abuja
- 351 km
Languages, stories and places to explore
Languages spoken
Major cities
Gusau · Kaura Namoda · Talata Mafara
What to explore · learn
Zamfara's nickname reflects its agrarian economy, especially grain and cotton farming.
Zamfara was the first Nigerian state to formally adopt Sharia criminal law in 1999-2000, a move that spread to several other northern states.
Zamfara was an old Hausa-speaking kingdom, counted in Hausa tradition among the Banza Bakwai states.
Metro areas
Gusau Metropolis
Zamfara State's capital, a Hausa trading and grain-marketing town created as a state capital when Zamfara was carved from Sokoto State in 1996.