South South

The South South (often hyphenated to the South-South) is one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.

South South
Country	Nigeria
States	Akwa Ibom State Bayelsa State Cross River State Delta State Edo State Rivers State
Largest city	Port Harcourt
Major cities	Benin City Warri/Uvwie Calabar Uyo Ikot Ekpene Ugep Sapele Buguma Ekpoma Uromi Auchi Ughelli Ikom Agbor Asaba Yenagoa
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
Major languages	Annang Boki Edo Efik Ekoi English Esan Etsako Ibibio Igbo Ika Isoko Itsekiri Izon Kalabari Obolo Ogba Ogoni Oro Urhobo Ukwuani Yala Yakö Yoruba

The six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

The zone stretches along the Atlantic seaboard from the Bight of Benin coast in the west to the Bight of Bonny coast in the east. It encloses much of the Niger Delta, which is instrumental in the environment and economic development of the region. Geographically, the zone is divided with the Central African mangroves in the coastal far south while the major inland ecoregions are–from east to west–the Cross–Sanaga–Bioko coastal forests, Cross–Niger transition forests, Niger Delta swamp forests, and Nigerian lowland forests.

Although the South South represents only ~5% of Nigerian territory, it contributes greatly to the Nigerian economy due to extensive oil and natural gas reserves. The region has a population of about 26 million people, around 12% of the total population of the country. Port Harcourt and Benin City are the most populous cities in the South South as well as the fourth and fifth most populous cities in Nigeria. Port Harcourt and its suburbs, together called Greater Port Harcourt, form the largest metropolitan area in the zone with about 3 million people; other large South-South cities include (in order by population) Warri/Uvwie, Calabar, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Ugep, Sapele, Buguma, Uromi, Ughelli, Ikom, and Asaba.[1]