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"The Akwa Ibom Project involves attitudinal re-orientation;
cultivation of a positive mindset; instilling self-confidence through massive empowerment
of our people; and the inculcation of the moral values of hard work, courage, honesty,
service and pragmatic peaceful co-existence"
- Akpabio
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Akwa Ibom State is located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It has a population
of 3,920,208 and a land area of 6,900 sq Km. It is located between latitudes 4o
31’ and 5o 53’ north and longitudes 7o 25’ and 8o 25’ east. It comprises 31 kocal
government areas. Uyo is state capial. Major urban centres include Uyo, Eket, Ikot
Ekpene, Abak, Ikot Abasi and Oron.
major ethnic groups are Ibibio, Anang, Oron, Eket, and Ibeno. The vegetation is characterised
by three easily distinguishable types namely the saline water swamp forest, the
fresh water swamp and the rain forest
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Immigration
Immigration for occupational purposes moves a large population of working class
indigenes to superior urban areas outside the state and country. Many hotels in
the country crave the services of Akwa Ibom cuisines and crave the services of the
natives for this purpose. Top federal civil servants make rather permanent residence
of their stations, where they establish and support their family there too, some
leaving their children behind when coming home finally on retirement.
A lot of our youths travel outside the country for advanced studies and do not return
to the state at completion of their studies but enjoy the higher earning power in
hard currencies which they transfer home frequently to support their parents.
Urbanisation in Akwa Ibom State has resulted in a population shift from rural areas
to the urban areas. Apart from Uyo being the capital, there are many other urban
areas like Ikot Ekpene, and Eket that attract majority of Akwa Ibom's population
to the effect that about one third the population are in the urban areas.
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Mortality
Akwa Ibomites are renowned for their good sanitary dispositions in cooking and living
environments. The state is experiencing improvements in mortality rates due to the
improvement in health conditions, less smoking, less drinking, better nutrition,
living and sanitary conditions. Altogether this should improve mortality rates of
Akwa Ibomites to 70years from the present state of 55.
With government organised healthcare and disease control programmes there is bound
to be lower mortality in Akwa Ibom State.
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Fertility
Women fertility in Akwa Ibom State is lower
than their biological potential. constrained
by limiting childbirth to married couples who in turn mutually limit childbirth
to resource availability.
Moral restraint of social behaviour of the Akwa Ibom people where child upbringing
between both parents and promotion of monogamy against polygamy means that most
women do not begin childbearing upon reaching puberty, even with such potential
most women of Akwa Ibom State are first engaged in education or getting gainfully
employed.
When eventually a couple comes around to commence childbearing, they may both be
gainfully employed and have to align childbearing with occupational challenges.
Even when such women become widowed they do not remarry as they have to maintain
their jobs to support their single parent nuclear family.
Time was when women education used to end at secondary or high school education.
With the establishment of more higher institutions in the state, the implication
is that more women will move on to graduate level or even post graduate before marriage.
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Population Distribution
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2006 Population Breakdown
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Demographic Trends
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| LGA |
POPULATION |
| ABAK |
139,090 |
| EASTERN-OBOLO |
60,543 |
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EKET |
172,557
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ESIT EKIT |
63,701
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ESSIEN-UDIM |
192,668
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ETIM-EKPO |
105,418
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| ETINAN |
169,284
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BENO |
75,380 |
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IBESIKPO-ASUTAN |
137,101 |
| IBIONO-IBOM |
189,640 |
| IKA |
72,939 |
| IKONO |
131,904 |
| IKOT-ABASI |
132,023 |
| IKOT-EKPENE |
143,077 |
| INI |
99,196 |
| ITU |
127,033 |
| MBO |
104,012 |
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LGA cntd. |
POPULATION |
| MKPAT-ENIN |
178,036 |
| NSIT ATAI |
74,595 |
| NSIT-IBOM |
108,611 |
| NSIT-UBIUM |
128,231 |
| OBOT-AKARA |
148,281 |
| OKOBO |
104,057 |
| ONNA |
123,373 |
| ORON |
87,461 |
| ORUK ANAM |
172,654 |
| UDUNG-UKO |
53,278 |
| UKANAFUN |
127,033 |
| URUE OFFONG |
71,159 |
| URUAN |
118,300 |
| UYO |
309,573 |
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TOTAL: |
3,920,208
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Compared to the last population of about 2 million in ----- Akwa Ibom population of about 4 million in 2006 is rather instructive of rate of population growth. This
is a result of rapid urbanisation, and the springing up of more urban centres within
the young state.
There are no plagues, epidemics and other catastrophes that limits Akwa Ibom population.
Rather various government health programmes in place added to improved transport
and communication are lowering the state's mortality rate. Coming from a previous
perspective of high fertility and high mortality rates when the state used to be
more rural under the former enlarged Cross River State these changes mean that with
declining mortality rates, unaccompanied by a reduction in fertility, the population
is bound to explode.
This also means that acculturation is taking its toll on the population as the combined
forces of tradition, religion, education, and marriage do not appear to check the
rapid population growth.
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