Ondo, state, western Nigeria. It was created out of former Ondo province of former Western state in 1976. It is bounded by the states of Kwara and Kogi on the north, Edo on the east, Delta on the southeast, and Osun and Ogun on the west and by the Bight of Benin of the Atlantic Ocean on the south. Ondo state includes mangrove-swamp forest near the Bight of Benin, tropical rain forest in the centre part, and wooded savanna on the gentle slopes of the Yoruba Hills in the north.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, and the chief products are cotton and tobacco from the north, cacao from the central part, and rubber and timber (teak and hardwoods) from the south and east; palm oil and kernels are cultivated for export throughout the state. Ondo is Nigeria’s chief cocoa-producing state. Other crops include rice, yams, corn (maize), coffee, taro, cassava (manioc), vegetables, and fruits. Traditional industries include pottery making, cloth weaving, tailoring, carpentry, and blacksmithing. Mineral deposits include kaolin, pyrites, iron ore, petroleum, and coal. There is a textile mill located at Ado-Ekiti and a palm-oil processing plant at Okitipupa.
The state, primarily inhabited by the Yoruba, a people with a tradition of living in towns, has a high proportion of urban dwellers. Akure, the state capital, is rapidly developing into a commercial and industrial centre and is the site of a federal university of technology. The Ikogosi hot spring and the historic Idanre Hills are places of interest. The main highway from Benin City to Lagos crosses the southern part of the state. Area 5,639 square miles (14,606 square km). Pop. (2006) 3,441,024.