The land for agriculture as well as the production of crude oil and natural gas ranks Abia as the joint-eighth highest Human Development Index in Nigeria since 2019.

Abia's history begins as part of the Aro Confederacy until their defeat in the early 1900s by the British troops during the Anglo-Aro War.

The Eastern Region attempted to secede in Nigerian Civil War with Abia as part of the secessionist state of Biafra.

After the war and the then reunification of Nigeria, the East Central State was merged until 1976 when Imo including Abia, was formed by Murtala Muhammed.

[9] The southern portion gets heavy rainfall of about 2,400 millimetres (94 in) per year and it is intense between the months of April through October.

There are factors that influence Municipal solid waste generation such as income level, local climatic condition, urbanization and economic development.

[14][15] The beach/pool score indicates that the best time of year to visit Aba for hot-weather activities is from late November to early February.

[23] The industrial centre of the state is in Aba, with textile manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, soap, plastics, cement, footwear, and cosmetics.

[9] In addition to the above, Abia State Government has just built a 9,000 capacity multipurpose International Conference Centre in Umuahia.

With its adequate seasonal rainfall, Abia has much arable land that produces yams, maize, potatoes, rice, cashews, plantains, taro, and cassava.

[25] As of 2012, boundary Commission said it returned 42 oil wells from neighbouring Rivers State to Abia.

[33] Other higher institutions of learning includes: Uma Ukpai Polytechnic, Asaga-Ohafia, Abia State College of Education (Technical) in Arochukwu, Abia State College Of Health Sciences and Management Technology in Aba, Temple Gate Polytechnic in Aba, Abia State Polytechnic[34] and the National Institute for Nigerian Languages, Aba, a federally-owned inter-university centre for the study and development of Nigerian Languages.

At statehood in 1991, Abia was ruled by Ibrahim Babangida-appointed Military Administrator Frank Ajobena before Ogbonnaya Onu was elected governor later that year under the Third Nigerian Republic.

Onu governed for nearly two years before Sani Abacha ended the Third Republic and reinstated full military rule.

In 1999, Nigeria returned to democracy, and Orji Uzor Kalu was elected governor on the platform of the People's Democratic Party.

In 2003, when it was time for fresh elections, Kalu re-contested on the platform of the PDP and got a second mandate to govern (the Constitution of Nigeria limits Governors to two terms in office).

At the end of Kalu's term in 2007, Theodore Orji (PPA) defeated Onyema Ugochukwu (PDP) in the 2007 gubernatorial election, to become Abia's next Governor.

[36] Four years later, he won re-election, defeating Uche Ogah of the All Progressives Congress and Alex Otti of APGA to be sworn in as Governor for a second term on 29 May 2019.

[citation needed] In 2023, Alex Otti of the Labour Party Nigeria (LP) emerged as the eleventh governor of the state having defeated the candidate of the PDP in a fiercely contested race.