# Igbo People

> The Igbo are one of Nigeria's three largest ethnic groups, native to south-eastern Nigeria and parts of Delta and Rivers states. Estimates put their number at roughly 32 million within Nigeria. Historically organised into largely autonomous village communities rather than centralised kingdoms, the Igbo declared the short-lived Republic of Biafra in 1967, and today sustain a large global diaspora shaped by both the transatlantic slave trade and post-war emigration.

**Category:** People & Ethnicity · **Updated:** 2026-07-23 00:55:07 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/igbo-people

## Key facts
- **Core region:** South-eastern Nigeria (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo); also Delta, Rivers
- **Population estimate:** c. 32 million in Nigeria (over 15% of national population, per one recent estimate)
- **Language:** Igbo (Niger-Congo, Volta-Niger) — see [[igbo-language]]
- **Notable early polity:** Kingdom of Nri, c. 10th–16th century, ritual and cultural influence
- **Political tradition:** Predominantly decentralised, village-council governance rather than monarchy
- **Civil war:** Republic of Biafra, 30 May 1967 – 15 January 1970
- **Diaspora:** Est. 226,000–237,000 Igbo Americans in the United States

## Sources
- Who Are The Ibo (Igbo) People? — WorldAtlas (https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/who-are-the-ibo-igbo-people.html)
- Igbo History in Nigeria and the world — Igbo Kwenu (igbokwenuct.org) (https://igbokwenuct.org/igbo-history/)
- In the News: The Nigerian Census — Population Reference Bureau (https://www.prb.org/resource/in-the-news-the-nigerian-census/)
- FACT-CHECK: Were five million 'Biafrans' killed in 1967? — The Nation (Nigeria) (https://thenationonlineng.net/fact-check-were-five-million-biafrans-killed-in-1967/)
- Timeline: 54 years of hunger as a weapon of war — Concern Worldwide (US) (https://concernusa.org/news/hunger-as-weapon-of-war-timeline/)
- We Are Igbo — University of Sunderland Journalism (Shorthand) (https://uosjournalism.shorthandstories.com/weareigbo/index.html)

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