Culture

Yoruba Ranks Among 40 Most Spoken Languages Worldwide

Published

12 months ago

September 22, 2025

akonitv

Yoruba language recognition as one of the world’s top 40 spoken tongues marks a proud milestone for Yoruba speakers worldwide

The milestone places Yoruba alongside global giants such as English, Mandarin, Hindi and Spanish.

Also read: Students Shine as Ooni Champions Yoruba language

For many across Nigeria and the diaspora, this recognition is a powerful affirmation of cultural pride and identity.

Experts say the ranking demonstrates the resilience of Yoruba traditions and the growing influence of African languages on the global stage.

Unlike many indigenous tongues facing decline, Yoruba has retained a strong intergenerational presence, supported by literature, media, and vibrant community use.

The Yoruba language recognition is not just symbolic but a reminder of the role language plays in shaping identity and unity.

Also read: Yoruba Culture Preservation Award Honours Olowu in Unforgettable Ceremony

With over 51 million speakers, Yoruba now stands proudly among the world’s linguistic powerhouses.

Here is the list below:

1 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇨🇦🇦🇺English — 1.53 billion
2 🇨🇳🇹🇼🇸🇬Mandarin Chinese — 1.18 billion
3 🇮🇳Hindi — 609 million
4 🇲🇽🇪🇸🇦🇷🇨🇴Spanish — 558 million
5 🇸🇦🇮🇶🇯🇴🇱🇧Standard Arabic — 335 million
6 🇫🇷🇨🇦🇧🇪French — 312 million
7 🇧🇩🇮🇳Bengali — 284 million
8 🇧🇷🇵🇹🇦🇴🇲🇿Portuguese — 267 million
9 🇷🇺🇰🇿🇧🇾🇰🇬Russian — 253 million
10 🇮🇩Indonesian — 252 million
11 🇵🇰🇮🇳Urdu — 246 million
12 🇩🇪🇦🇹🇨🇭German — 134 million
13 🇯🇵Japanese — 126 million
14 🇪🇬Egyptian Arabic — 119 million
15 🇮🇳Marathi — 99 million
16 🇻🇳Vietnamese — 97 million
17 🇮🇳Telugu — 96 million
18 🇳🇬Hausa — 94 million
19 🇹🇷Turkish — 91 million
20 🇵🇰Western Punjabi — 90 million
21 🇹🇿🇰🇪Swahili — 87 million
22 🇵🇭Tagalog — 87 million
23 🇮🇳🇱🇰Tamil — 86 million
24 🇨🇳🇭🇰Yue Chinese — 86 million
25 🇨🇳Wu Chinese — 83 million
26 🇮🇷🇦🇫🇹🇯Persian (Farsi) — 83 million
27 🇰🇷🇰🇵Korean — 82 million
28 🇹🇭Thai — 71 million
29 🇮🇩Javanese — 69 million
30 🇮🇹Italian — 66 million
31 🇮🇳Gujarati — 62 million
32 🇸🇾🇱🇧🇯🇴🇵🇸Levantine Arabic — 60 million
33 🇪🇹Amharic — 60 million
34 🇮🇳Kannada — 59 million
35 🇮🇳Bhojpuri — 53 million
36 🇸🇩Sudanese Arabic — 52 million
37 🇳🇬Yoruba — 51 million
38 🇮🇳Odia (Oriya) — 42 million
39 🇺🇦Ukrainian — 41 million
40 🇲🇲Burmese — 33 million

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Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

1 week ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”