Nigeria is one of Africa’s most linguistically diverse countries. Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo are among its best-known languages, but hundreds of other languages are used by communities across the country. These languages carry local histories, oral literature, knowledge systems, names, music and cultural identity.
How many languages does Nigeria have? The answer depends on the source, the edition, and how a language is distinguished from a dialect or variety.
Why Nigeria has so many languages
Nigeria’s linguistic diversity reflects long histories of settlement, migration, trade, political organization and contact among communities. Languages belong to different families and branches, with Niger-Congo languages especially prominent. Hausa is a major Chadic language; Kanuri belongs to the Saharan grouping in many classifications. English is the official language and is widely used in government, education and formal communication. Nigerian Pidgin is a widely used contact language, while Nigerian Sign Language is part of the country’s linguistic landscape.
Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo have large speaker populations and broad public visibility, but many smaller languages remain central to community life. Speaker numbers, vitality and spelling conventions can differ between sources and change over time. A language name in this list does not by itself indicate how many people speak it today or whether it is considered endangered.
Alphabetical list of 527 language names for Nigeria
The following names are presented in the order of the source compilation. Repeated entries and variant labels are retained where they appear in that source, rather than silently merging entries that may require linguistic verification.
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