ScriptLookup

Igbo

ig 27M speakers

Igbo is a Niger-Congo language with approximately 27M speakers speakers. It is written using the Latin script. Its BCP 47 language code is ig.

Igbo (Igbo) is a Niger-Congo language spoken primarily in southeastern Nigeria. It is one of the three major languages of Nigeria alongside Yoruba and Hausa, with approximately 27 million native speakers.

Igbo is a tonal language written with the Latin alphabet. It has a large number of dialects. Chinua Achebe, one of Africa's most celebrated novelists (known for 'Things Fall Apart'), wrote in English but drew heavily on Igbo culture and language.

Writing Systems Used for Igbo

Latin
Primary
Hello World
LTR Latn

Frequently Asked Questions

What alphabet or script does Igbo use?
Igbo is written using the Latin script (ISO 15924 code: Latn). Latin is written left-to-right.
What direction is Igbo written?
Igbo is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Igbo?
Igbo has approximately 27M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Niger-Congo language family.
What language family does Igbo belong to?
Igbo belongs to the Niger-Congo language family. It is written with the Latin script.
What is the language code for Igbo?
The BCP 47 language code for Igbo is "ig". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.

Language Facts

BCP 47 Code
ig
ISO 639-3
ibo
Status
living
Speakers
27M speakers
Language Family
Niger-Congo
Scripts
1
Primary Script
Latin

Other Latin Languages

Acehnese Acoli Adangme Afar Afrikaans Aghem Akan Akoose Alabama Albanian Aleut Anii Ao Naga Aragonese Araona Arapaho Arawak Aromanian Arpitan Asturian

Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.