A Hausa harpist Igbo men Yoruba drummers
Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, with varying languages and customs, creating a country of rich ethnic diversity. The largest ethnic groups are the Fulani/Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, accounting for 68% of population, while the Edo, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio, Ebira Nupe and Tiv comprise 27%; other minorities make up the remaining 7 percent.

The middle belt of Nigeria is known for its diversity of ethnic groups, including the Pyem, Goemai, and Kofyar. There are small minorities of British, Americans, East Indians, Chinese (est. 50,000), white Zimbabweans, Japanese, Greeks, Syrian, Lebanese and refugees and immigrants from other West African or East African nations. These minorities mostly reside in major cities such as Lagos and Abuja, or in the Niger Delta as employees for the major oil companies.

A number of Cubans settled Nigeria as political refugees following the Cuban Revolution. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a number of ex-slaves of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian descent and emigrants from Sierra Leone established communities in Lagos, Ibadan and other regions of Nigeria. Many ex-slaves came to Nigeria following the emancipation of slaves in Latin America.

Many of the immigrants, sometimes called Saros (immigrants from Sierra Leone) and Amaro (ex-slaves from Brazil) later became prominent merchants and missionaries in Lagos and Abeokuta.

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