According to estimations from 2018, Nigeria's major ethnic groups are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), and Fulani. Hausa people are estimated to make up 30 percent of the country's population. Hausa is an ethnic group of people speaking the Hausa language. The Hausa are mainly present in West Africa, most of them living between Nigeria and Niger. Another 30 percent of Nigeria's population is constituted by Yoruba and Igbo (Ibo), while about six percent of Nigerians are Fulani.

The primary languages spoken at home in Nigeria are Hausa, Yoruba, and English. In a survey conducted in 2022 around 32 percent of respondents declared that they mainly spoke Hausa at home. Some 17 percent, on the other hand, had Yoruba as their main family language. Igbo followed, with 13 percent of the respondents indicating it. Some other languages spoken in Nigerian households are English, Ibibio, Fulani, Tiv, Nupe, Pidgin English, and Ijaw.

One of the most diverse countries

There are over 500 languages in Nigeria. The country has only one official language, English. According to estimates from 2018, Nigeria's major ethnic groups are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, Tiv, Kanuri, and Beriberi. Hausa, the largest population, is an ethnic group of people speaking the Hausa language. The Hausa are mainly present in West Africa, most of them living between Nigeria and Niger.

English is the main language at school

The main language of instruction at school is generally English. However, for the first years of education, an indigenous or local language is also taught. As of 2019, around 72 percent of young women and 78 percent of young men in Nigeria were English language literates. This means they could understand, read, and write a short and simple statement in English, for instance, on their everyday life.

As of 2021, Hausa was the most widely spoken local language in Nigeria, as it was used by more than 48 million people. Following this were Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin, Igbo, and Fulfulde, which registered approximately 39.5 million, 30 million, 27 million, and 22 million speakers, respectively. English is the official language of Nigeria, with 60 million speakers.

Hausa is one of the most common mother tongues used by household heads in the North of Nigeria. In 2020, 73.8 percent of household heads in the North-West zone used Hausa as a mother tongue. In the North- Eastern region, the share reached 45.3 percent.

Nigerians usually feel comfortable speaking their mother tongue in public. In a survey conducted in 2020, 96 percent of them declared that they felt comfortable about this. The primary languages spoken at home in Nigeria are Hausa, Yoruba, and English. Some other common languages spoken in Nigerian households are Igbo, Fulani, Tiv, Nupe, Pidgin English, and Ijaw.

The most common mother tongues among Nigerian household heads are Hausa and Yoruba. In 2020, 21.8 percent of the heads of Nigerian households had Yoruba has their mother tongue, while 21.8 percent spoke Hausa as their first language.