Igbo people
Ethnic group in Southern Nigeria / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Igbo people (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh,[10][11] US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh;[12][13] also spelled Ibo[14][15] and historically also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe,[16] Eboans,[17] Heebo;[18] natively Ṇ́dị́ Ìgbò) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States.[19] Ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon,[20] Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as migrants[21][22] as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people,[23] which are largely unknown.[24] [25][26]The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.[27]
Ṇ́dị́ Ìgbò | |
---|---|
Total population | |
c. ≈ 37,985,000 (2024)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Nigeria | 35,088,096 (15.2% of total population)[2] |
United States | 117,000[3] |
Cameroon | 114,000[4] |
Ghana | 72,000[5] |
Equatorial Guinea | 69,000[5][6] |
Canada | 9,035 (2021)[7] |
United Kingdom | 8,000[5] |
Gambia | 7,700[5] |
Ireland | 6,000[8] |
Estonia | 152 |
Languages | |
Igbo, Igboid, Nigerian Pidgin, Nigerian English | |
Religion | |
Christianity, Omenala/Odinala[9] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Ibibio, Efik, Annang, Bahumono, Ogoni, Idoma, Igala, Edo, Ijaw, Ogoja, Bamileke |
The Igbo language[23] is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are somewhat mutually intelligible amidst the larger "Igboid" cluster.[28] The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) cluster.
Before the period of British colonial rule in the 20th century, the Igbo were politically fragmented by the centralized chiefdoms of Nri, Aro Confederacy, Agbor and Onitsha.[29] Frederick Lugard introduced the Eze system of "warrant chiefs".[30] The Igbos became overwhelmingly Christian during the evangelism of the missionaries in the colonial era in the twentieth century.[31] In the wake of decolonisation, the Igbo developed a strong sense of ethnic identity, with Christianity being the major religion and Islamic minorities.[32]
After ethnic tensions following the independence of Nigeria in 1960, the Igbos seceded from Nigeria and attempted to establish a new independent country called Biafra, triggering the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970).[33] Millions of Biafran civilians died from starvation after the Nigerian military formed a blockade around Biafra, an event that international media promoting humanitarian aid for Biafra. Biafra was eventually defeated by Nigeria and reintegrated into the country. The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra and the now Nigerian-government proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), two organizations formed after 1999, continue to struggle for an independent Igbo state.[34]