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Nigeria

NG

West Africa

Nigeria is home to 9 documented ethnic groups in West Africa — led by Hausa Nigeria (~30%), Nigeria Other (~19%), Igbo (~18%), Yoruba Nigeria (~18%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Hausa Nigeria30.0%Nigerian demographic estimates (Nigeria has not collected ethnic-disaggregated census data since 1963 given political sensitivities, though estimates are based on broader demographic studies); Hausa (~30%, ~67M+ of ~223M+ total). Predominantly Sunni Muslim, predominantly northern Nigeria. Cross-border with Nigerien Hausa
Nigeria Other19.3%Nigerian demographic estimates residual; includes Edo / Bini, Nupe, Igala, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Idoma, Anaang, Ebira, Ogoni, plus other groups across Nigeria's approximately 250+ ethnic groups
Igbo18.0%Nigerian demographic estimates; Igbo / Ibo (~18%, ~40M+); Niger-Congo source population, predominantly southeastern Nigeria. The Biafran War (1967-1970) was substantially driven by Igbo separatism
Yoruba Nigeria18.0%Nigerian demographic estimates; Yoruba (~18%, ~40M+); Niger-Congo / Kwa source population, predominantly southwestern Nigeria. Founders of the historic Oyo Empire (~14th-19th c. CE)
Fulani Nigeria6.0%Nigerian demographic estimates; Fulani (~6%); pastoral nomadic populations, predominantly northern Nigeria. The 2010s-onwards Fulani-farmer conflict in central Nigeria has produced substantial humanitarian impact
Tiv2.5%Nigerian demographic estimates; Tiv (~2.5%); Bantoid source population, predominantly central Nigeria
Kanuri Nigeria2.2%Nigerian demographic estimates; Kanuri (~2.2%); predominantly northeastern Nigeria. Cross-border with Nigerien, Chadian, and Cameroonian Kanuri
Ibibio Efik2.2%Nigerian demographic estimates; Ibibio / Efik (~2.2%); Niger-Congo source population, predominantly southeastern Nigeria
Ijaw1.8%Nigerian demographic estimates; Ijaw (~1.8%); Niger-Congo source population, predominantly Niger Delta

Nigeria Phenotype Profile

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa (~223M+) with a remarkably heterogeneous demographic structure — Hausa (~30%), Yoruba (~18%), Igbo (~18%), plus Fulani, Tiv, Kanuri, Ibibio-Efik, Ijaw, and 240+ other ethnic groups. The country's three largest groups have been historically associated with the three major regional power blocks of post-independence Nigerian politics.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Nigeria population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Nigeria in the History of Erotic Depiction

Manuals, literature & art traditions of this country · full timeline →

West & Central African figure sculpture

art

Dogon, Luba and Yoruba · 16th-20th century CE

Paired-figure symbolism dominates: ancestral couples on granary locks, dynastic embraces, Ogboni staff pairs. Nudity marks ancestral or cosmogonic status rather than eroticism, and no depiction of an enacted sexual position is confirmed in the corpus.

  • Door Lock: CoupleMetropolitan Museum of Art (1985.422.7)
  • Figure: Seated CoupleMetropolitan Museum of Art (1977.394.16)
  • Door Lock (Dogon)Brooklyn Museum (76.131.1a-c)
  • Luba Shankadi "Seated Couple"Private collection, France; offered Bonhams LA, 2016 (withdrawn)
  • + 3 more on the timeline

Methodology Notes

Composition weights are estimated based on broader demographic studies — Nigeria has not collected ethnic-disaggregated census data since 1963 given political sensitivities around regional and religious balance.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.National Population Commission Nigeria. Population and Housing Census 2006. Abuja: NPC; 2010.
  2. 2.Falola T, Heaton MM. A History of Nigeria. Cambridge University Press; 2008.
  3. 3.Achebe C. There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra. Penguin; 2012.
  4. 4.Tishkoff SA, Reed FA, Friedlaender FR, et al. The genetic structure and history of Africans and African Americans. Science. 2009;324(5930):1035-1044.
  5. 5.Suberu RT. Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria. United States Institute of Peace; 2001.

Other countries in West Africa

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring West Africa nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all West Africaethnic groups & countries →