# Igbo Language

> Igbo is a Volta-Niger language of the Niger-Congo family, native to south-eastern Nigeria's Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states, with speakers also in Delta and Rivers. Estimates put native speakers at roughly 25–29 million depending on source and year. A 2012 UNESCO forecast of extinction by 2025 remains disputed amid renewed global academic and diaspora interest in the language.

**Category:** Languages · **Updated:** 2026-07-23 00:55:07 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/igbo-language

## Key facts
- **Family:** Niger-Congo > Benue-Congo > Volta-Niger > Igboid
- **Native speakers:** c. 25 million (2019 est.) to c. 29 million (2018 est.)
- **Core region:** South-east Nigeria (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo); also Delta, Rivers
- **Tones:** Two tones — high and low — plus downstep
- **Standard orthography:** Ọnwụ orthography, adopted 1961
- **Contested claim:** UNESCO 2012 forecast: extinction by 2025, disputed by linguists

## Sources
- Igbo language and alphabet — Omniglot (https://www.omniglot.com/writing/igbo.htm)
- Calls to use Nigerian languages at school are going unheard — The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/calls-to-use-nigerian-languages-at-school-are-going-unheard-126785)
- Igbo (World Languages) — MustGo.com (https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/igbo/)
- Igbo language defies extinction — Mail & Guardian (https://mg.co.za/africa/2022-05-23-igbo-language-defies-extinction/)

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