Yoruba people

Yoruba
Ìran Yorùbá
Ọmọ Oòduà, Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire
Total population
c. ≈ 53,224,000 (2025)
Groups of Yoruba men and women from Offa town.
Regions with significant populations
Nigeria42,600,000 (2020)
Benin1,600,000
Ghana425,600
Togo342,500 (2014)
United States213,732 (2023)
Ivory Coast115,000 (2017)
Niger80,700 (2021)
Canada42,075 (2021)
Sierra Leone16,578 (2022)
Ireland10,100 (2011)
Gambia9,224 (2024)
Australia4,020 (2021)
Finland1,538 (2023)
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups
(Gbe);  Aja · Ewe · Fon · Mahi · Ogu
(Kwa);  Adele · Akebu · Anii · Ga · Kposo
(Edoid);  Afemai · Bini · Esan · Urhobo
PersonỌmọ Yorùbá
PeopleỌmọ Yorùbá
LanguageÈdè Yorùbá
CountryIlẹ̀ Yorùbá

The Yoruba people (/ˈjɒrʊbə/ YORR-uub-ə; Yoruba: Ìran Yorùbá, Ọmọ Odùduwà, Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, a region collectively called Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, and over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among the African diaspora. The vast majority of Yoruba are in today's Nigeria, where they make up 20.7% of the country's population according to Ethnologue estimates, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger–Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.