There are exactly eight (8) states in Yorubaland. In other words, the total number of Yoruba states in Nigeria are eight.
However, seven among those eight states are fully Yoruba states, while one of them partly belongs to yorubaland (Ilè Yorùbá).
The Yoruba tribe is among the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, the remaining two being Igbo and Hausa.
Here are the Yoruba states in Nigeria
- Oyo
- Ogun
- Kwara
- Lagos
- Osun
- Ondo
- Ekiti
- Kogi
The seven states that fully or at least almost fully belong to the Yoruba people of Nigeria are Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Lagos, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti.
The Okun people, located in Kogi-West senatorial district only make a portion of Kogi State. However, that is enough to help it earn a place in our list.
Although the some parts of Edo state are considered to have Yoruba origin, it is not enough to include them to our list.
Also Read>>> The Six Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria & Their States
Size and map of Yorubaland in Nigeria
The Yoruba people boast a landmass of approximately 142,114 km2, of which 74.6% is located in Nigeria, 18.6% is found in Benin and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. This huge landmass is bigger than the ones owned by several countries around the world. As a matter of fact, yorubaland is the combined size of Greece and Montenegro.
In the table below you’ll find the states in Yorubaland along with the sizes of their lands.
| Yoruba State | Capital | Landmass (square kilometre) |
| Ekiti State | Ado Ekiti | 6,353 |
| Kogi State | Lokoja | 9,351 |
| Kwara State | Ilorin | 17,000 |
| Lagos State | Ikeja | 3,345 |
| Ogun State | Abeokuta | 16,762 |
| Ondo State | Akure | 15,500 |
| Osun State | Oshogbo | 9,251 |
| Oyo State | Ibadan | 28,454 |
Also read:
- See a list of over 300 languages in Nigeria
- List of states in Igboland of Nigeria
- Names of God in different Nigerian languages
good day! a blood test revealed that my mother, bless her soul, is 99% descended from the Yoruba. I live in The Bahamas, a nation of people who were victims of the slave trade. How do I connect intimately with such a brutal, but rich heritage and history as it related to the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade? And how do I reconnect with my people who are so far away from he Bahamas? Who do I contact? How do I do this?
Congratulations on tracing your roots to the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Yoruba people are located in the southern part of Nigeria. They have a rich cultural heritage which I believe anyone will be proud of associating gwith. If you want to reconnect, just find time to come spend your vacation here, visit some of the historical sites and get to meet the people, know about their culture — that will be a good place to start.