Yorubaland

Yorubaland Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire Southwest & part of North Central Nigeria, Southeast & Central Benin, East-Central Togo
Cultural region
Yorubaland (Yoruba Nation)
Nickname:  Ilẹ̀ Oòduà
Location of Yorubaland (green) in West Africa (white)
Part of	Benin  Nigeria  Togo
Earliest dated Ifẹ̀ artefact	500 BC
- Ifẹ Empire	11th century
- Oyo Empire	1300
- British Colony	1862
- French Colony	1872
- Dahomey (Now Benin)	1904
- Nigeria	1914
Founded by	Proto-Yoruba and Proto-Edekiri speaking peoples
Regional capital	•Ìbàdàn (Political) •Ilé-Ifẹ̀ (Cultural/Spiritual) •Èkó (Economic)
Former seat	• Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé (Old capital of the Oyo Empire)
Composed of	List Osun State Oyo State Ogun State Ondo State Ekiti State Lagos State Kwara State Kogi State Ouémé Plateau Collines Donga Borgu Plateaux Centrale
Government
• Type	Monarchies • Ọba (King) • Ògbóni (Legislature) • Olóye (Chiefs) • Balógun (Generalissimo) • Baálẹ̀ (Village/Regional heads in Western Yorubaland) • Ọlọ́jà (Village/Regional heads in Eastern Yorubaland)
Area
• Total	181,300 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
• Density	387/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
	In Nigeria, Benin and Togo
Demographics
• Language	Yoruba, Yoruboid languages
• Religion	Christianity, Islam, Ìṣẹ̀ṣè
Time zone	WAT (Nigeria, Benin), GMT (Togo)

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.