Other important geographical features are the Udi-Nsukka Plateau and Ekulu River, which flows through the city of Enugu.

Modern-day Enugu State has been inhabited for years by various ethnic groups, primarily the Igbo people with minorities of Idoma and Igala peoples in Etteh Uno, a community in Igbo Eze North Local Government Area.

In the pre-colonial period, what is now Enugu State was a part of the medieval Kingdom of Nri and the Arochukwu-based Aro Confederacy before the latter was defeated in the early 1900s by British troops in the Anglo-Aro War.

The city of Enugu was named the Biafran capital until October 1967 when it was captured by federal forces; the rest of the state was hard-fought over but much of it fell by June 1968.

Enugu State has the tenth highest Human Development Index in the country and is considered the heart of Igboland, the cultural region of ethnically Igbo areas.

Enugu has good soil-land and climatic conditions all year round, sitting at about 223 metres (732 ft) above sea level, and the soil is well drained during its rainy seasons.

Enugu typically receives about 158.57 millimeters (6.24 inches) of precipitation and has 192.73 rainy days (52.8% of the time) annually.

The first European settlers arrived in the area in 1909, led by a British mining engineer named Albert Kitson.

The Colonial Governor of Nigeria Frederick Lugard took a keen interest in the discovery, and by 1914 the first shipment of coal was made to Britain.

As mining activities increased in the area, a permanent cosmopolitan settlement emerged, supported by a railway system.

He was elected by the people in April 2023 and was sworn in on 29 May 2023[15] Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is the immediate past governor succeeding Sullivan Chime.

[20] They are: Economically, the state is predominantly rural and agrarian, with a substantial proportion of its working population engaged in farming, although trading (18.8%) and services (12.9%) are also important.

A small proportion of the population is also engaged in manufacturing activities, with the most pronounced among them located in Enugu, Oji, Ohebedim and Nsukka.

Every four days, grains and other farm produce are found in large quantities and at highly competitive prices.

The Oji River Power Station (which used to supply electricity to all of Eastern Nigeria) is located in Enugu State.

[41] There are few adherents of traditional religion, and people from Northern and Western Nigeria practices Islam and Pentecostalism.