Igbo represents a dialect continuum, belonging to the Igbo Group of Kwa. Igbo is spoken in most of Anambra State, northern Rivers State, and also in Midwestern State, all in the lower Niger River Basin area of Nigeria. Igbo is often spelled "Ibo."
World Almanac (1998) gives a figure of 18 million total speakers of Igbo, while UBS (1982) notes 13 million first-language Igbo speakers. Voegelin and Voegelin (1977) state there are "well over 3 million speakers" of Igbo. Herault (1981) estimates 8 million.
Igbo is a national language, also widely used in primary schools as a medium of instruction.
Igbo has an official orthography established in 1961; everything published in Igbo is in this orthography.
The question of how many sets of materials are required is yet to be resolved.
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