Yorubaland

Yorubaland
Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire
Southwest & part of North Central Nigeria, Southeast & Central Benin, East-Central Togo
Cultural region
Nickname: 
Ilẹ̀ Oòduà
Yorubaland Cultural Area of West Africa
Location of Yorubaland (green)

in West Africa (white)

Part of Benin
 Nigeria
 Togo
Earliest dated Ifẹ̀ artefact500 BC
- Ifẹ Empire11th century
- Oyo Empire1300
- British Colony1862
- French Colony1872
- Dahomey (Now Benin)1904
- Nigeria1914
Founded byProto-Yoruba and Proto-Edekiri speaking peoples
Regional capitalÌbàdàn (Political)
Ilé-Ifẹ̀ (Cultural/Spiritual)
Èkó (Economic)
Former seatỌ̀yọ́-Ilé (Old capital of the Oyo Empire)
Composed of
Government
 • TypeMonarchies
Ọba (King)
Ògbóni (Legislature)
Olóye (Chiefs)
Balógun (Generalissimo)
Baálẹ̀ (Village/Regional heads in Western Yorubaland)
Ọlọ́jà (Village/Regional heads in Eastern Yorubaland)
Area
 • Total181,300 km2 (70,000 sq mi)
Highest elevation
1,055 m (3,461 ft)
Lowest elevation
−0.2 m (−0.7 ft)
Population
 (2015 estimate)
 • Total~ 55 million
 • Density387/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
 In Nigeria, Benin and Togo
Demographics
 • LanguageYoruba, Yoruboid languages
 • ReligionChristianity, Islam, Ìṣẹ̀ṣè
Time zoneWAT (Nigeria, Benin), GMT (Togo)
PeopleỌmọ Yorùbá
LanguageÈdè Yorùbá
CountryIlẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire
(Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá / Ilẹ̀ Oòduà)

Yorubaland (Yoruba: Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire) is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 (54,871 sq mi). Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yoruba.