Rivers Stateย is one of the 36ย statesย ofย Nigeria. Its capital isย Port Harcourt. It is bounded on the South by theย Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo,ย Abiaย andย Anambraย States, to the East byย Akwa Ibomย State and to the West byย Bayelsaย andย Deltaย states. Rivers state is home to many ethnic groups:ย Ikwerre,ย Igbo,ย Ijaw,ย Kalabari,ย Etche,ย Ogba,ย Ogoniย and others.
The inland part of Rivers state consists ofย tropical rainforest; towards the coast the typicalย Niger Deltaย environment features many mangrove swamps.
Rivers state, named after the many rivers that border its territory, was part of theย Oil Rivers Protectorateย from 1885 till 1893, when it became part of theย Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900 the region was merged with the chartered territories of theย Royal Niger Companyย to form the colony ofย Southern Nigeria.
Rivers State has one of the largest economies in Nigeria, mainly because of its crude oil. The State has two major refineries, two major seaports, airports, and various industrial estates spread across the state, particularly in the State capital.