Jigawa State is famous for the Dutsen Habude cave paintings in the town of Birnin Kudu, which have been dated back to the Neolithic period.

To the north, Jigawa shares an international border with Zinder Region in The Republic of Niger for 70 km, which is a unique opportunity for cross-border trading activities.

The Nigerian government readily took advantage of this by initiating and establishing a free trade zone at the town of Maigatari on the border with Niger.

Its topography is characterized by undulating land, with sand dunes of various sizes spanning several kilometres in parts of the State.

The southern part of Jigawa comprises the basement complex while the northeast is made up of sedimentary rocks of the Chad Formation.

Hadejia – Kafin Hausa River traverses the state from west to east through the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands and empties into the Lake Chad Basin.

Due to both natural and human factors, forest cover is being depleted, making the northern part of the state highly vulnerable to desert encroachment.

The state enjoys vast fertile arable land to which almost all tropical crops could adapt, thus constituting one of its highly prized natural resources.

Life expectancy as at 2001 was about 52 years with a total fertility rate of about 6.2 children per woman of childbearing age (a little above the national average).

The 2002 CWIQ Survey however, indicated that access to high quality safe drinking water (pipe born, hand pump boreholes and protected wells) is low at about 63%, while nearly 67% of households have good means of sanitation.

Low timber output rates lead to socioeconomic problems and endanger the survival of priceless and beneficial trees.

The Anglican Diocese of Dutse (1996) within the province of Kaduna, is led by Bishop Markus Yohanna Danbinta (2016), also the Evangelical Church Winning All is well established in the state.

This decentralized approach to governmental administrative structure was seen as a move towards stimulating economic activities socio-economic development and empowerment over a wider area since government is the largest employer, perhaps second only to agriculture.

In addition, this was also seen as a way for spreading even development among major urban centers and a shift from "city-state syndrome" that obtained in the old Kano State.

Other informal sector activities include blacksmithing, leather-works, tailoring services, auto repairs, metal works, carpentry, tanning, dyeing, food processing, masonry etc.

The State of infrastructure for economic development such as roads, electricity, telecommunication and information technology have recently witnessed tremendous improvements through massive rehabilitation and expansion works.

The following tertiary Institutions are located in Jigawa State[29][30] Federal Highways: One road to Niger from Gumel at Maigatari to RN13 to Dungass.

Presently, the State partners with DFID, UNDP, UNICEF, IBRD, IFAD, ADF and some other International Development Agencies in pursuit of several development projects and programmes, particularly in the sphere of pro-poor growth, poverty reduction, education, and positive reform programmes such as Public Expenditure Management, Health Systems and Justice System Reforms.