Global InformationImo State information
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Imo | |
|---|---|
State | |
 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nicknames: Eastern Heartland | |
 Location of Imo State in Nigeria | |
| Coordinates: 5°29′N 7°2′E / 5.483°N 7.033°E | |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| Created | 3 February 1976 |
| Capital | Owerri |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Hope Uzodinma (APC) |
| • Deputy Governor | Lady Chinyere Ekomaru (APC) |
| • Legislature | Imo State House of Assembly |
| • Senators | E: Onyewuchi Francis Ezenwa (LP) N: Frank Ibezim (APC) W: Osita Izunaso (APC) |
| • Representatives | List |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,530 km2 (2,140 sq mi) |
| • Rank | Ranked 34th |
| Population (2017 est.)[3]1 | |
| • Total | 4,927,563[1] |
| • Estimate (2022) | 5,459,300[2] |
| • Rank | 13th of 36 |
| Demonym | Imolite |
| GDP (PPP) | |
| • Year | 2021 |
| • Total | $49.69 billion[4] 4th of 36 |
| • Per capita | $7,828[4] 3rd of 36 |
| Time zone | UTC+01 (WAT) |
| postal code | 460001 |
| ISO 3166 code | NG-IM |
| HDI (2021) | 0.647[5] medium · 6th of 37 |
| ^1 Preliminary results | |
Imo State (Igbo: Ȯha Imo) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east.[6] It takes its name from the Imo River which flows along the state's eastern border. The state capital is Owerri and the State's slogan is the "Eastern Heartland."[7]
Of the 36 States in Nigeria, Imo is the third smallest in area but is fourteenth most populous with an estimated population of over 5.4 million as of 2022.[8] Geographically, the state is divided between the Niger Delta swamp forests in the far east and the drier Cross–Niger transition forests in the rest of the state. Other key geographical features are the state's rivers and lakes with the Awbana, Imo, Orashi, and Otamiri rivers along with the Oguta Lake in western Imo State.[9]
Modern-day Imo State has been inhabited for almost a thousand years by the Igbo people with the Igbo language serving as a lingua franca alongside English throughout the state. In the pre-colonial period, what is now Imo State was a part of medieval Kingdom of Nri and the later Aro Confederacy before the latter was defeated in the early 1900s by British troop then the Anglo-Aro War. After the war, the British incorporated the area into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate which later merged into British Nigeria in 1914; after the merger, Imo became a centre of anti-colonial resistance during the Women's War.[10]
After independence in 1960, the area of the present-day Imo was a part of the post-independence Eastern Region until 1967 when the region was split and the area 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 Imo as a part of the secessionist, Igbo nationalist state of Biafra. The area was hard fought over throughout the war with Owerri and its surrounding area exchanging hands twice before Owerri was named the Biafran capital in 1969. The present-day Imo State was captured by federal forces in early 1970 with Operation Tail-Wind taking the city and ending the war.[11] At the war's end and the reunification of Nigeria, the East Central State was reformed until 1976 when Imo State was formed by the Murtala Muhammed regime. Fifteen years afterwards, Imo State was divided with eastern Imo being broken off to form the new Abia State.[12][13]
The state economy is highly dependent on agricultural production, especially the production of palm oil, which a majority of citizens rely on for cooking.[14] A key minor industry is the extraction of crude oil and natural gas,[15] especially in Imo's north and west. The state has been beset by violence at various points throughout its history, most notably the anti-cult 1996 Otokoto Riots[16] and the ongoing separatist violence from the Eastern Security Network[17] along with other opportunistic nativist gunmen. Despite unrest, with its fast growing population and industrialization, Imo State has the joint-sixth highest Human Development Index in the country.[18]
- ^ "2017 PHC Priority Tables – NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION". population.gov.ng. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Imo State: Subdivision". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "2006 Population Census" (PDF). National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria. May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b Okeowo, Gabriel; Fatoba, Iyanuoluwa, eds. (13 October 2022). "State of States 2022 Edition" (PDF). Budgit.org. BudgIT. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ "Imo | state, Nigeria | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "Nigeria's 36 States and Their Slogans". nigerianfinder.com. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "Nigeria Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "What are the two lakes in Imo State?". big board scouting. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Aba Women's Riots (November-December 1929) •". 27 March 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "History of Imo State | Culture | Economy | People | Naijabiography". Naijabiography Media. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "This is how the 36 states were created". Pulse.ng. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Abia | state, Nigeria | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ Chukwu, A. O.; Onweagba, A. E.; Nwosu, C. S.; Osondu, P. C. (2011). "Economic Assessment of Palm Oil Processing in Owerri Agricultural Zone of Imo State". International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development. 14 (2): 703–706. ISSN 1595-9716.
- ^ "Opiah: With 18 Recovered Oil Wells, Imo Now Fourth Highest Producing State – THISDAYLIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ Sherifat, Lawal (19 September 2020). "Remembering Otokoto uprising". Vanguard News. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "IPOB/ESN leader killed in Imo, Police claim". Punch Newspapers. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
- ^ "Human Development Indices". Global Data Lab. Retrieved 15 December 2021.