382 Ethnic Groups in Nigeria

According to Worldatlas, Nigeria is number 18 in the world’s most diverse ethnic groups in the world with over 520 spoken languages. Many ethnic groups in Nigeria exist within its geographical limits, and many of them have territories that cross several different countries.

According to Wikipedia, An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other, usually on the basis of presumed similarities such as common language, ancestry, history, society, culture, nation or social treatment within their residing area.

Ethnicity in Nigeria is usually an inherited status based on the society in which one is given birth to. Membership of an ethnic group in Nigeria tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art or physical appearance.

On this article, I will list out all the Ethnic groups in Nigeria without leaving out any and if peradventure I did not mention an ethnic group you are very much familiar with, please use the comment section to make it known.

First let’s consider the most popular of these Ethnic groups in Nigeria which are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba and Ijaw; and from these ethnic groups in Nigeria span several groups numbering over 380. These aforementioned ethnic groups in Nigeria comprise only fifty-seven per cent of the population of Nigeria.

According to postcolonialweb, the remainder of the people are members of the ethnic minority groups, which include such peoples as the Kanuri, the Nupe, and the Tiv in the north, the Efik/Ibibio, and the Ekoi in the east, and the Edo and Urhobo/Isoko to the west, along with hundreds of other groups that differ widely in language, culture and even physique.

This list below does not indicate which state nor whether they are major or minority ethnic groups in Nigeria. If you can’t find a particular ethnic group on this list please kindly indicate by using the comment section below.