Language

The number of languages in Nigeria is currently estimated at 521. This number includes 510 living languages, 2 second languages without native speakers and 9 extinct languages. In some areas of Nigeria, ethnic groups speak more than one language. The official language of Nigeria, English, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country. This choice was partially due to the fact that a part of Nigerian population spoke English as a result of the British colonial occupation that ended in 1960.

English, however, remains an exclusive preserve of a small minority of the country's urban elite, and is not spoken in rural areas. With the majority of Nigeria's populace in the rural areas, the major languages of communication in the country remain tribal languages. Some of the largest of these, notably Igbo and Yoruba, have derived standardised languages from a number of different dialects and are widely spoken by those ethnic groups. Hausa is a lingua franca throughout much of West Africa, and serves this function in Northern Nigeria as well, particularly amongst the Muslim population. Nigerian Pidgin English, often known simply as 'Pidgin' or 'Brokan' (Broken English), is also as a popular lingua franca, though with varying regional influences on dialect and slang.

Even though most ethnic groups prefer to communicate in their own languages, English, being the official language, is widely used for education, business transactions and for official purposes.