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JAMB Areas of Concentration for Geography 2026/2027

JAMB Areas of Concentration for Geography 2026/2027 focus on Physical Geography, Human Geography, Map Reading & Interpretation, and Regional Geography (Nigeria/Africa), covering Earth’s structure, climate, population, settlements, GIS basics, surveying, and man-environment interactions, using the official syllabus as your guide for detailed topics like scale, bearings, and data interpretation.

Geography is a key UTME subject for candidates aiming to study environmental science, urban planning, geology, international relations, and related fields. For the 2026/2027 JAMB UTME, the Geography syllabus focuses on understanding natural environments, human activities, and spatial relationships, with strong emphasis on Nigeria and Africa.

The updated areas of concentration reflect modern issues such as climate change, sustainable resource management, urbanization, and digital mapping. Candidates are expected to demonstrate both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, including map reading, interpretation of diagrams, and basic fieldwork concepts.

The syllabus is structured into three main sections:

  • Practical Geography
  • Physical Geography
  • Human Geography

By concentrating on these high-yield areas and practicing map and data interpretation, candidates can score 70% and above in JAMB Geography and strengthen their overall UTME performance.

JAMB Areas of Concentration for Geography 2026/2027

. Practical Geography

This section emphasizes hands-on skills essential for geographical analysis. Candidates must be proficient in interpreting visual and spatial data, which forms the foundation for higher-level problem-solving.

  • Maps and Scales: Understand the types of maps, including topographic, thematic, and chorographic maps. Focus on scale calculations, such as representative fractions and verbal scales, and converting between them. Practice measuring distances and areas on maps, especially those depicting Nigerian terrains like the Jos Plateau or Niger Delta.
  • Map Interpretation: Analyze contour lines to identify landforms such as hills, valleys, and plateaus. Identify human features like settlements, roads, and drainage patterns. Emphasize relief features in African contexts, such as the Ethiopian Highlands, and their influence on settlement patterns.
  • Photographs and Diagrams: Differentiate between ground, oblique, and aerial photographs. Interpret statistical diagrams like pie charts, bar graphs, and flow lines to represent population distribution or trade flows in West Africa. Practice sketching cross-profiles from contour maps to visualize elevation changes.
  • Surveying Techniques: Grasp basic principles of chain, plane table, and prismatic compass surveying. Calculate bearings and include simple field survey exercises, such as plotting a traverse in a local Nigerian community to determine plot sizes.
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Basics: Recognize the role of GIS in modern geography for overlay analysis and spatial querying. Apply this to environmental monitoring, like tracking deforestation in the Congo Basin using digital layers.

These practical elements test about 20% of the exam questions, requiring candidates to apply skills rather than rote learning.

2. Physical Geography

Physical Geography explores the natural processes shaping Earth’s surface, with a tropical focus relevant to Nigeria’s diverse climates and landforms.

  1. The Earth as a Planet: Describe the solar system, Earth’s rotation, and revolution, explaining day-night cycles, seasons, and time zones. Discuss the Earth’s shape and size, including proofs like satellite imagery, and eclipses in the context of African observational history.
  2. The Earth’s Crust: Outline major rock types (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) and their formation. Study plate tectonics, continental drift, and folding processes. Highlight Nigerian examples, such as the Basement Complex rocks in the southwest.
  3. Volcanism and Earthquakes: Explain causes of volcanoes and earthquakes, including types like shield and composite cones. Map global distribution and impacts, such as the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption versus Mount Cameroon in Africa.
  4. Denudation Processes in the Tropics: Cover weathering (physical, chemical, biological) and mass movement. Detail fluvial erosion, transportation, and deposition, forming features like V-shaped valleys and deltas in the River Niger.
  5. Water Bodies: Classify oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers. Discuss ocean currents (e.g., Guinea Current) and tides, and their effects on Nigerian coastal economies like fishing in Lagos.
  6. Weather and Climate: Differentiate weather from climate, studying elements like temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind. Analyze climate types using Koppen’s classification, focusing on Nigeria’s tropical monsoon and savanna zones.
  7. Vegetation and Soil: Describe major biomes, including rainforests, grasslands, and deserts. Study soil profiles, formation, and fertility, with emphasis on lateritic soils in tropical Africa and erosion control methods.
  8. Environmental Resources and Hazards: Identify renewable (forests, water) and non-renewable (minerals) resources. Discuss hazards like floods, droughts, and desertification, and mitigation strategies such as afforestation in the Sahel region.

This section accounts for roughly 40% of questions, demanding a blend of descriptive knowledge and explanatory analysis.

3. Human Geography

Human Geography examines the interplay between people and their environments, with applications to economic and social development in Nigeria and Africa.

  1. Population and Demography: Analyze population distribution, density, and growth rates using pyramids and indices. Study factors influencing distribution, like migration push-pull models, and overpopulation issues in Lagos.
  2. Migration: Types include rural-urban, international, and forced (e.g., refugees in West Africa). Discuss causes, patterns like the brain drain from Nigeria, and impacts on origin and destination areas.
  3. Urbanization and Settlements: Define urban growth, classifying settlements as rural or urban. Examine site, situation, and patterns (linear, nucleated), with case studies of Nigerian cities like Abuja’s planned layout versus organic growth in Kano.
  4. Transportation and Trade: Modes include road, rail, water, and air, assessing their efficiency in Nigeria (e.g., Lagos-Ibadan rail). Study trade patterns, balance of payments, and regional blocs like ECOWAS.
  5. Economic Activities: Primary (agriculture, mining), secondary (manufacturing), tertiary (services). Focus on Nigerian agriculture (cash crops like cocoa) and industrialization challenges like power shortages.
  6. Manufacturing Industries: Location factors (raw materials, labor, markets) and types (heavy, light). Analyze clusters like Aba’s textile industry and global shifts affecting African economies.
  7. Commercial Activities: Retail, wholesale, and markets. Discuss informal sectors in Nigerian markets like Alaba and the role of e-commerce in urban trade.
  8. Transportation Systems: Networks and their development, including trans-Saharan routes’ historical significance. Evaluate accessibility in rural Nigeria and solutions like rural electrification.

These topics make up about 30% of the exam, linking theory to socio-economic realities.

FAQs

How has the 2026/2027 Geography syllabus been updated from previous years?

The update emphasizes GIS integration and climate adaptation strategies, reflecting global priorities like the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Core topics remain stable, but examples now include recent events like 2024 Sahel droughts.


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