The historic region lies between the Niger River to the west and Lake Chad to the east, spanning present-day northern Nigeria and southern Niger.
The landscape is mostly flat to gently rolling savanna, giving way to drier Sahel in the north. A single long rainy season (roughly May–September) supports the cultivation of millet, sorghum, maize, groundnuts, cotton, and — historically vital — indigo. The dry season brings the harmattan, a dusty north-easterly wind off the Sahara.
Kano
The largest and most historic Hausa city and the commercial heart of northern Nigeria — among the greatest continuously inhabited trade centres in sub-Saharan Africa, with a metropolitan population in the millions.
Katsina
A former "chief of the market" among the Hausa Bakwai and a historic centre of Islamic learning, positioned on the old trans-Saharan caravan routes.
Zaria (Zazzau)
Associated with the warrior queen Amina; today a major educational hub, home to one of Nigeria's largest universities.
Sokoto
Capital of the 19th-century Caliphate founded by Usman ɗan Fodio; still the seat of the Sultan of Sokoto, a leading spiritual authority for Nigerian Muslims.
Gobir
The northern "chief of war" state that guarded Hausaland's frontier — and, later, the birthplace of the reformer Usman ɗan Fodio.
Maradi & Zinder
Major Hausa cities in southern Niger, keeping the region's culture and commerce alive on the northern side of the modern frontier.
One people, two nations
The colonial borders drawn by Britain and France divided Hausaland between Nigeria and Niger, but the Hausa cultural and linguistic world crosses that line freely. Trade, family ties, faith, and a shared language continue to bind the region across the international boundary.