Kaduna, state, north-central Nigeria. Its area includes the traditional emirate of Zaria and Jemaa town. Kaduna was substantially reduced in size when its northern half became Katsina state in 1987. Kaduna is bordered by the states of Zamfara, Katsina, and Kano to the north; Bauchi and Plateau to the east; Nassawara to the south; and Niger to the west. Abuja Federal Capital Territory also borders Kaduna state to the southwest.
The Kaduna River, a tributary of the Niger River, flows roughly east to west through the center of the state. The state’s natural vegetation consists largely of savanna woodlands. Much of the area suffered greatly in the past from Hausa and Fulani slave raids from the north, and many walled settlements remain in the vicinity of Zaria. Almost all of the state’s Hausa and Fulani inhabitants are Muslims; in the south, however, there are about 30 other ethnic groups in the state, not all Muslim, of which the largest is the Gbari (Gwari).
Kaduna state produces cotton and peanuts (groundnuts) for export. Other cash crops include shea nuts, ginger, and peppers; vegetables grown in the riverine floodplains, brown sugar processed locally from sugarcane; onions; and soybeans. Tobacco is a major cash crop around Zaria (where cigarettes are made), and sorghum is utilized by a brewery in Kaduna town. Sorghum and millet are staple foods. Cattle, chickens, guinea fowl, and sheep are raised, and hides and skins are tanned for export.
Kaduna, the state capital, is Nigeria’s largest textile-manufacturing centre and has other major industries as well, including an oil refinery. Another industrial center, Zaria, processes tobacco and cotton seed and manufactures textiles, bicycles, and printed matter. Traditional crafts, especially cotton weaving and dyeing (with locally grown indigo), leather processing, raffia weaving, and pottery designing (notably among the Gbari), also retain considerable economic importance. Tin mining continues near Kafanchan on the western edge of the Jos Plateau, and tantalite is also found there.
Zaria has the Ahmadu Bello University (1962) and agricultural, livestock, and education institutes. Kaduna town has several colleges as well as institutes for trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and eye diseases. The National Museum (1975), with archaeological and ethnographic exhibits, is also in the town.
Kaduna and Zaria are major railway centres in the state, with lines from Lagos and Port Harcourt (south) serving both towns, and lines running to Kaura Namoda, Jos, and Nguru (north and east). The main highway network serves Kaduna and Zaria. Area 17,781 square miles (46,053 square km). Pop. (2006) 6,066,562.