Yoruba

The Yoruba are the second largest ethnic group in Nigeria, comprising approximately 18 percent of the total population. They live largely in the south-west of the country; there is also a substantial Yoruba community in Benin. They are the main ethnic group in the states of Ekiti, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Ongo, Osun, and Oyo. A sizable number of Yoruba live in the Republic of Benin, while small communities can be found yet further afield, in Togo, Sierra Leone, Brazil and Cuba. The majority of Yoruba people are Christians, with the Church of Nigeria (Anglican), Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist, and Indigenous churches) having the largest memberships. Moslems comprise about a quarter of the Yoruba population, with the traditional Yoruba religion accounting for the rest. The Yoruba were the most urbanized Africans in the precolonial era, and have a history of town-dwelling that goes back to 500 A.D. The chief Yoruba cities are Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Akure, Ilorin, Ogbomosho, Oyo, and Ife.

See also: Yoruba language