Young Life Nigeria

Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, but the country broke out into civil war in 1967. The civil war lasted until 1970, but eventually military rule was established which lasted on and off until 1999. The military head of state died in 1998, allowing there to be a transition to a civilian government as a new constitution was created. The nation has worked to become more democratic, but there is significant tension between various ethnic and religious groups causing several of the presidential elections to become violent as most of the major political parties are tied to the largest ethnic and religious groups in the country. In the population of over 211 million, just over 46% of the people in Nigeria are under age 18. The country is nearly split between Islam and Christianity, with Islam at 55% and Christianity near 45%.