Endonym Atlas NAMES IN THEIR SCRIPTS
Country · NG

Nigeria in other languages: exonyms, Abuja, Lagos, flag and 36 states

Nigeria is Nijeriya in Hausa, Naijiria in Igbo and Nàìjíríà in Yoruba; its ISO codes are NG, NGA and 566. This page gives the name in 174 languages, Abuja in 61, Lagos in 54, and the 36 states and the capital territory with their ISO 3166-2 codes.

Official languagesEnglish; Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba

Checked

ISO 3166-1alpha-2 · alpha-3 · numeric
Flag of Nigeria
ratio 1:2
alpha-2
NG
alpha-3
NGA
numeric
566
Nigeria English · Latin

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Nijeriya Hausa · Latin

Jamhuriyar Tarayyar Nijeriya

Nàìjíríà Yoruba · Latin

Orílè̩-èdè Olómìnira Àpapò̩ ilè̩ Nàìjíríà

Naijiria Igbo · Latin
English
NigeriaFederal Republic of Nigeria
Capital
AbujaAbùjáAbuja

ISO 3166-1, checked 28 October 2026

01 · Exonyms

Nigeria in other languages

Nigeria in 174 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, Breton, Welsh, Danish, Basque, Faroese, Finnish, Kven, Interlingua, Indonesian, Italian, Javanese, Latin, Limburgish, Ladin, Dutch, Norwegian, Novial, Polish, Romansh, Romanian, Northern Sami, Spanish, Albanian, Saterland Frisian, Swahili, Swedish, German, Luxembourgish, Low Germaneng / bre / cym / dan / eus / fao / fin / fkv / ina / ind / ita / jav / lat / lim / lld / nld / nor / nov / pol / roh / ron / sme / spa / sqi / stq / swa / swe / deu / ltz / ndsNigeriasame as written
Lower Sorbian, Croatian, Upper Sorbian, Lithuanian, Sloveniandsb / hrv / hsb / lit / slvNigerijasame as written
Hungarian, Portuguese, Slovak, Sardinianhun / por / slk / srdNigériasame as written
Asturian, Galician, Nahuatlast / glg / nahNixeriasame as written
Czech, Jersey Norman French, Norman Frenchces / jnf / nrmNigériesame as written
Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Karakalpakcrh / gag / kaaNigeriya / НигерияNigeriya
Hausa, Kinyarwanda, Kirundihau / kin / runNijeriyasame as written
Catalan, Occitancat / ociNigèriasame as written
Haitian Creole, Turkishhat / turNijeryasame as written
AfrikaansafrNigeriësame as written
AragoneseargNicheriasame as written
AzerbaijaniazeNigeriya / НиҝеријаNigeriya
BambarabamNizeriyasame as written
BosnianbosNigerija / Нигерија / نٖىغەرٖىياNigerija
CornishcorNijerisame as written
EsperantoepoNiĝeriosame as written
EstonianestNigeeriasame as written
FrenchfraNigéria, Nigeriasame as written
Franco-ProvençalfrpNig·èriasame as written
West FrisianfryNigeariasame as written
FriulianfurNizeriesame as written
Scottish GaelicglaNìgeiriasame as written
IrishgleAn Nigéirsame as written
ManxglvYn Naigeersame as written
IgboiboNaijiriasame as written
IcelandicislNígeríasame as written
KongokonNizeria, Nigeriasame as written
Kurmanji KurdishkurNîjeryasame as written
LatvianlavNigērijasame as written
LingalalinNizeriasame as written
LatgalianltgNigerejasame as written
MalagasymlgNizeria, Nijeriasame as written
MaltesemltNiġerjasame as written
MoldovanmolNigeria / НиӂерияNigeria
MalaymsaNigeria / نيݢيرياNigeria
QuechuaqueNiqiryasame as written
Kalderash RomanirmyNijeriya / निजेरियाNijeriya
AromanianrupNigheriasame as written
SicilianscnNiggeriasame as written
SloviosloNigeria / НигериаNigeria
SamogitiansmgNigerėjėsame as written
SamoansmoNaiteriasame as written
SomalisomNayjeeriya, Neyjeeriyasame as written
SilesianszlŃigerjasame as written
TetumtetNijériasame as written
TagalogtglNigeryasame as written
TongantonNaisīliasame as written
Tok PisintpiNaijeriasame as written
TurkmentukNigeriýa / НигерияNigeriýa
UzbekuzbNigeriya / Нигерия / نىگېرىيەNigeriya
VietnamesevieNi-giê-ri-asame as written
VolapükvolNigeriyänsame as written
VõrovorNigeeriäsame as written
WalloonwlnNidjeriasame as written
WolofwolNiseeriasame as written
YorubayorNàìjíríàsame as written
ZhuangzhaNizywlihyasame as written
ZazakizzaNiceryasame as written
Abaza, Altai, Avar, Bulgarian, Khakas, Komi, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Lezgi, Russian, Yakut, Tuvan, Udmurt, Kalmykabq / alt / ava / bul / kjh / kom / krc / kum / lez / rus / sah / tyv / udm / xalНигерияNigerija
Chuvash, Mongolian, Ossetianchv / mon / ossНигериNigeri
Rusyn, Ukrainianrue / ukrНіґеріяNigerija
AbkhazabkНигериаNigeria
BashkirbakНигерия / NigeriyaNigeriya
BelarusianbelНігерыя / NihieryjaNihieryja
ChechencheНигери / NigeriNigeri
KazakhkazНигерия / نيگەريا / NïgerïyaNïgerïya
KabardiankbdНигериэNigeriă
KyrgyzkirНигерия / نىگەرىيا / NigeriyaNigeriya
Kurdish (Caucasus)kmrНигери / NîgêrîNîgêrî
Meadow MarimhrНигерийNigerij
MacedonianmkdНигеријаNigerija
SerbiansrpНигерија / NigerijaNigerija
TatartatНигерия / Nigeriä / نىگېرىيەNigeriä
TajiktgkНигерия / نیگیریه / NigerijaNigerija
Arabicaraنيجيريا, نايجيرياNīǧīriyā / Nayǧīriyā, Nāyǧīriyā
South Azerbaijaniazbنیگئرییا / NigeriyaNigeriya
Sorani Kurdishckbنیجێریا / NîcêryaNîcêrya
Persianfasنیجریه / Nijeriye, نیژری / Nižeri, نیجریا / NijeriyâNijeriye, Nižeri, Nijeriyâ
Western Punjabi, Urdupnb / urdنائجیریاNāʾijīriyā
DariprsنیجریاNayjeriyā
Pashtopusنيجريا, نايجريا, نايجيرياNayjiriyā, Nāyjiriyā, Nāyjīriyā
Uyghuruigنىگېرىيە / Nigériye / НигерияNigériye
Dhivehidivނައިޖިރިއާ, ނައިޖީރިއާNaijiriā, Naijīriā
HebrewhebניגריהNīgeryah
Ladinoladניגﬞיריה / NidjeriaNidjeria
YiddishyidניגעריעNigerye
Berber, Kabyleber / kabⵏⵉⵊⵉⵔⵢⴰ / NijiryaNijirya
Amharicamhናይጄሪያ, ናይጄርያNayjeriya, Nayjerya
GreekellΝιγηρία, ΝιγερίαNigīría, Nigería
ArmenianhyeՆիգերիաNigeria
Georgian, Mingreliankat / xmfნიგერიაNigeria
Lazlzzნიჟერია / NijeriaNijeria
Hindihinनाइजीरिया, नाइजेरियाNāijīriyā, Nāijeriyā
Bengalibenনাইজেরিয়া, নাইজিরিয়াNāijeriyā, Nāijiriyā
GujaratigujનાઈજેરિયાNāījeriyā
OdiaoriନାଇଜେରିଆNāijeriā
PunjabipanਨਾਈਜੀਰੀਆNāījīrīā
SinhalasinනයිජීරියාවNayijīriyāva
KannadakanನೈಜೀರಿಯNaijīriya
MalayalammalനൈജീരിയNaijīriya
TamiltamநைஜீரியாNaijīriyā
TelugutelనైజీరియాNaijīriyā
Chinesezho奈及利亞/尼日利亚Nírìlìyà
JapanesejpnナイジェリアNaijeria
Koreankor나이지리아Naijiria
Tibetanbodཉི་རི་ལི་ཡ།, ནི་ཇི་རི་ཡ།Ñi.ri.li.ya, Ni.ji.ri.ya
Burmesemyaနိက်ဂျီးရီးယားNeiʿjìẏìyà
ThaithaไนจีเรียNaičīriya
LaolaoນີເກເຣຍNīkēliya
Khmerkhmនីហ្សេរីយ៉ាNīhserīyā

Chinese has two different spellings: 奈及利亞 in traditional characters and 尼日利亚 in simplified ones; the romanisation given is for the second.

02 · Names

Nigeria in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and beyond

The country's own languages each fit the name to their sounds. Hausa writes Nijeriya, a spelling that Kinyarwanda and Kirundi share; Igbo has Naijiria, and Yoruba Nàìjíríà, with tone marks on every vowel. The full title Federal Republic of Nigeria is Jamhuriyar Tarayyar Nijeriya in Hausa and Orílè̩-èdè Olómìnira Àpapò̩ ilè̩ Nàìjíríà in Yoruba.

In Europe the spelling barely moves. Nigeria stays as it is in English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish and twenty-five more languages, while Croatian, Slovenian and Lithuanian write Nigerija, Hungarian and Portuguese Nigéria, Czech Nigérie and Esperanto Niĝerio. Russian and thirteen other languages written in Cyrillic share Нигерия (Nigerija).

Elsewhere the first vowel often becomes a diphthong: نايجيريا (Nāyǧīriyā) beside نيجيريا in Arabic, ナイジェリア (Naijeria) in Japanese, 나이지리아 (Naijiria) in Korean, नाइजीरिया in Hindi. Chinese is unusual in having two quite different names, 奈及利亞 in traditional characters and 尼日利亚 in simplified ones.

Abuja is short and travels well, but languages that write the English j as c or dž leave a mark: Azerbaijani Abuca, Latvian and Lithuanian Abudža, Polish Abudża, Spanish Abuya. Lagos shows the opposite case: Yoruba calls the city Èkó, Hausa Ikko and Gbe Awanli, three names that owe nothing to Lagos.

03 · Abuja

Abuja in other languages

Abuja in 61 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, French, German, Luxembourgish, Low German, Irisheng / fra / deu / ltz / nds / gleAbujasame as written
Latvian, Lithuanian, Silesianlav / lit / szlAbudžasame as written
AzerbaijaniazeAbuca / АбуҹаAbuca
BosnianbosAbuja / Абуџа / آبۆجاAbuja
EsperantoepoAbuĝosame as written
Haitian CreolehatAboujasame as written
IcelandicislAbútjasame as written
Kurmanji KurdishkurAbûcasame as written
MoldovanmolAbudja / АбуджаAbudja
MalaymsaAbuja / ابوجاAbuja
PolishpolAbudżasame as written
SloviosloAbugxa / АбуджаAbugxa
SamogitiansmgAbodžasame as written
SpanishspaAbuyasame as written
TurkmentukAbuja / АбуджаAbuja
UzbekuzbAbuja / Абуджа / ئەبۇجەAbuja
Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainianbul / rus / ukrАбуджаAbudža
BashkirbakАбуджа / AbudjaAbudja
BelarusianbelАбуджа / AbudžaAbudža
ChuvashchvАбуджӑAbudžă
KazakhkazАбуджа / ابۋدجا / AbwdjaAbwdja
KabardiankbdАбуджэAbudžă
KyrgyzkirАбуджа / ابۇدجا / AbudcaAbudca
MongolianmonАбужаAbuǰa
OssetianossАбуджӕAbudžä
SerbiansrpАбуџа / AbudžaAbudža
TatartatАбуджа / Abuca / ئابۇجاAbuca
TajiktgkАбуҷа / ابوجه / AbuçaAbuça
Arabicaraأبوجا, أبودجاAbūǧā, Abūdǧā
South Azerbaijaniazbآبوجا / AbucaAbuca
Persianfasآبوجا / ÂbujâÂbujâ
Pashto, Urdupus / urdابوجاAbūjā
Uyghuruigئابۇجا / Abuja / АбуджаAbuja
DhivehidivއަބޫޖާAbūjā
Hebrewhebאבוג׳הAbūjah
YiddishyidאַבודזשאַAbudža
AmharicamhአቡጃĂbuja
Greek (Demotic)ellΑμπούτζαAmpoýtza
Greek (Katharevousa)ellἈμπούτζαAmpoýtza
ArmenianhyeԱբուջաAbouǰa
GeorgiankatაბუჯაAbuǰa
HindihinअबुजाAbujā
BengalibenআবুজাĀbujā
KannadakanಅಬೂಜAbūja
MalayalammalഅബൂജAbūja
TamiltamஅபூசாApūcā
Chinesezho阿布賈/阿布贾Ābùjiǎ
JapanesejpnアブジャAbuja
Koreankor아부자Abuja
ThaithaอาบูจาĀbūčā
Khmerkhmអាប៊ូចាĀbūčā

Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Tatar and South Azerbaijani write the j sound with c: Abuca, Abûca.

04 · Lagos

Lagos in other languages

Lagos in 54 languages and variants, grouped where the spelling is shared, with ISO 639-3 codes and romanisation
LanguagesISO 639-3NameRomanised
English, French, German, Luxembourgish, Low German, Irisheng / fra / deu / ltz / nds / gleLagossame as written
Moldovan, Turkmenmol / tukLagos / ЛагосLagos
AzerbaijaniazeLaqos / ЛагосLaqos
BosnianbosLagos / Лагос / لاغۉسLagos
EsperantoepoLagososame as written
GbegbxAwanlisame as written
HausahauIkkosame as written
LatvianlavLagosasame as written
LithuanianlitLagosassame as written
MalaymsaLagos / لاݢوسLagos
TetumtetLagussame as written
UzbekuzbLagos / Лагос / لەگاسLagos
YorubayorÈkósame as written
Bulgarian, Mongolian, Russianbul / mon / rusЛагосLagos
Bashkir, Serbianbak / srpЛагос / LagosLagos
BelarusianbelЛагас / ŁahasŁahas
Kazakh, Kyrgyzkaz / kirЛагос / لاگوس / LagosLagos
TatartatЛагос / Lagos / لاگوسLagos
TajiktgkЛагос / لگاس / LagosLagos
UkrainianukrЛаґосLagos
Arabicaraلاغوس, لاجوسLāġūs, Lāgūs
South Azerbaijaniazbلاقوس / LaqosLaqos
Persianfasلاگوس / LâgosLâgos
PashtopusلاګوسLāgōs
Uyghuruigلاگوس / Lagos / ЛагосLagos
UrduurdلاگوسLāgōs
DhivehidivލާގޮސްLāgos
Hebrewhebלגוס, לאגוסLagōs, Lāgōs
YiddishyidלאַגאָסLagos
Amharicamhላጎስ, ሌጐስLagos, Legwas
GreekellΛάγκοςLágkos
ArmenianhyeԼագոսLagos
GeorgiankatლაგოსიLagosi
HindihinलागोसLāgos
Bengalibenলাগোস, লেগোসLāgos, Legos
GujaratigujલાગોસLāgos
PunjabipanਲਾਗੋਸLāgos
Tamiltamஇலாகோஸ்Ilākōs
Telugutelలాగోస్Lāgōs
Chinesezho拉各斯, 拉哥斯Lāgèsī, Lāgēsī
JapanesejpnラゴスRagosu
Koreankor라고스Lagoseu
ThaithaลากอสLākɔ̄t
Khmerkhmឡាហ្គូសḶāhkūs

Yoruba Èkó, Hausa Ikko and Gbe Awanli are names of their own, not adaptations of Lagos.

05 · States

The 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory

Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory around Abuja. Each row gives the official name, the name ISO 3166-2 uses, the code and the state capital. Six of the states entered the ISO list in 2000.

Nigeria, ISO 3166-2:NG: 36 states, 1 capital territory
ISO 3166-2Official nameEnglishAdministrative centreChange
States36
NG-AB Abia State Abia UmuahiaUmuahia
NG-AD Adamawa State Adamawa YolaYola
NG-AK Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom UyoUyo
NG-AN Anambra State Anambra AwkaAwka
NG-BA Bauchi State Bauchi BauchiBauchi
NG-BY Bayelsa State Bayelsa YenagoaYenagoa 2000 Added by ISO with five other new states
NG-BE Benue State Benue MakurdiMakurdi
NG-BO Borno State Borno MaiduguriMaiduguri
NG-CR Cross River State Cross River CalabarCalabar
NG-DE Delta State Delta AsabaAsaba
NG-EB Ebonyi State Ebonyi AbakalikiAbakaliki 2000 Added by ISO with five other new states
NG-ED Edo State Edo Benin CityBenin City
NG-EK Ekiti State Ekiti Ado EkitiAdo Ekiti 2000 Added by ISO with five other new states
NG-EN Enugu State Enugu EnuguEnugu
NG-GO Gombe State Gombe GombeGombe 2000 Added by ISO with five other new states
NG-IM Imo State Imo OwerriOwerri
NG-JI Jigawa State Jigawa DutseDutse
NG-KD Kaduna State Kaduna KadunaKaduna
NG-KN Kano State Kano KanoKano
NG-KT Katsina State Katsina KatsinaKatsina
NG-KE Kebbi State Kebbi Birnin KebbiBirnin Kebbi
NG-KO Kogi State Kogi LokojaLokoja
NG-KW Kwara State Kwara IlorinIlorin
NG-LA Lagos State Lagos IkejaIkeja
NG-NA Nassarawa State Nasarawa LafiaLafia 2000 Added by ISO as Nassarawa; the current ISO spelling is Nasarawa
NG-NI Niger State Niger MinnaMinna
NG-OG Ogun State Ogun AbeokutaAbeokuta
NG-ON Ondo State Ondo AkureAkure
NG-OS Osun State Osun OshogboOshogbo
NG-OY Oyo State Oyo IbadanIbadan
NG-PL Plateau State Plateau JosJos
NG-RI Rivers State Rivers Port HarcourtPort Harcourt
NG-SO Sokoto State Sokoto SokotoSokoto
NG-TA Taraba State Taraba JalingoJalingo
NG-YO Yobe State Yobe DamaturuDamaturu
NG-ZA Zamfara State Zamfara GusauGusau 2000 Added by ISO with five other new states
Federal capital territory1
NG-FC Federal Capital Territory Abuja Federal Capital Territory AbujaAbuja

Codes and the names in the English column: ISO 3166-2:NG on the ISO Online Browsing Platform with newsletters I-1 (21 June 2000) and II-2 (30 June 2010), read from the English Wikipedia mirror on 28 October 2026. Official names and capitals: the 2016 edition of this list.

06 · Divisions

How the states and their codes are set out

Every state is officially called State after its name, Abia State or Zamfara State, and ISO 3166-2 drops that word. The codes are two letters after NG-, mostly the first two letters of the name (NG-AB Abia, NG-KO Kogi) and otherwise a pair that avoids a clash, as NG-KN Kano and NG-KT Katsina show.

Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Nasarawa and Zamfara were added to the ISO list in newsletter I-1 of 21 June 2000. The newsletter spelled Nasarawa as Nassarawa, the form also used in the state column here; the current ISO list writes Nasarawa. The 2010 newsletter II-2 added names in administrative languages and changed no code.

Several capitals carry the name of their state (Bauchi, Enugu, Kano, Sokoto), others do not: Lagos State is governed from Ikeja, Rivers State from Port Harcourt, Oyo State from Ibadan and Osun State from Oshogbo.

07 · Questions

Questions about the names and states of Nigeria

What is Nigeria called in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba?

Nijeriya in Hausa, Naijiria in Igbo and Nàìjíríà in Yoruba.

How many states does Nigeria have?

36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, 37 units with codes in ISO 3166-2:NG.

How is Abuja spelled in Azerbaijani?

Abuca, written Абуҹа in Cyrillic. Tatar and South Azerbaijani use the same Latin spelling.

What is the Yoruba name of Lagos?

Èkó. Hausa calls the city Ikko.

What are Nigeria's ISO codes?

NG (alpha-2), NGA (alpha-3) and 566 (numeric) in ISO 3166-1.