The Richest Igbo States In Nigeria (2022)

Can you name the richest Igbo states in Nigeria? When it comes to the Igbo people, they are unique in their culture and general lifestyle and ideology.

The Igbo language is one of the three major lingua that is spoken in Nigeria, the others being Yoruba and Hausa.

As a major ethnic group, the Igbos have taken out some effort to ensure that they leave their marks in the hearts of every other ethnic group in the nation.

In recent times, the common misguided stereotype that other Nigerian ethnic groups have concerning the Igbo ethnic group is that Igbo people love money a lot.

This is further buttressed by the fact that most business owners residing in Nigeria are from the Igbo ethnic group and that most Igbo people are born hustlers.

In reality, however, the Igbos are just a hardworking set of people with strong community values and a deep sense of kinship with their fellow Igbo brethren. 

The competition for success, especially financial success between the Igbos and other ethnic group might be relatively fierce, but the Igbos are even more fiercely competitive amongst their fellow tribesmen.

This is proven by the fact that every Igbo state in Nigeria has at least 100 billionaires. This might not seem impressive to some aristocrats reading this, but it is important that we note that there are just five (5) Igbo states in Nigeria out of the country’s thirty-six (36) States. 

These 5 states are however not ranked too highly on the GDP scale; with just one making it into the top 10 richest states in Nigeria.

But this can be explained by the fact that while many Igbo people are doing extremely well for themselves, they do not necessarily contribute to the upkeep of the government. This is because the Igbo people are said to have a decentralized system of government.

Now, let us take a look at 5 of the wealthiest Igbo states in Nigeria. Now keep in mind that our Rankings are based on the states GDP, and not on its individual wealth. That means that even though we know that people from Anambra state are quite wealthy, it doesn’t mean that the state would rank as the wealthiest state since this rank is GDP based.

With that being said, let us dive in.

Richest Igbo States In Nigeria

5. Ebonyi State ($2.7 Billion GDP)

Also dubbed “The Salt of the Nation,” Ebony is quite famous for its massive deposits of salt and salt mines. Besides that, one of the richest states in Igbo land happens to be one of the top producers of potatoes and yams in the whole country.

The government would stand to gain a fortune from investing in the Agro-allied sector of this great state, sadly, in reality, the workforce and resources as far as Agriculture is concerned, continue to be massively underutilized.

As regards other natural resources, the state of Ebony is blessed with crude oil, as well as Lead (Pb) and a few reserves of natural gas. The 26 years old state has a GDP of around 2.7 billion US Dollars.

4. Enugu State ($4.4 Billion GDP)

The second-richest state in southeast Nigeria is Enugu. Another South Eastern state is Enugu; a place also named the “Coal Coty”. As implied by its name, the state is the coal hub of Nigeria, producing a substantial amount of coal for fuel and energy.

In recent times, however, since the advent of more efficient and cleaner sources of energy, the people of Enugu have shifted their sights to other forms of revenue generation like agriculture and the provision of other services.

In the urban regions of the state, commerce is the order of the day. All these activities help to support the state’s economy to a reasonably large extent. The state also has one of the best state universities in Nigeria.

3. Anambra ($6.7 Billion GDP)

This state is home to the famous Obi Cubana and many other wealthy Nigerian socialites. The state is responsible for producing many of the wealthiest Igbo men the country of Nigeria has ever seen.

Nicknamed “The City of Light,” indeed, Anambra has been a beacon of hope to its Igbo counterparts, especially the port city of Onitsha. This city in Anambra is probably arguably the most important Igbo city in all of south-eastern Nigeria. It is also home to the richest city in Igboland which is Nnewi.

It is not just a hub, but heaven for various commercial activities. It is one of the Oldest Igbo cities filled with a copious amount of rich history and heritage.

The state contains approximately 11 million people that all contribute to the State’s economy in one way or another from agriculture to industrial work.

2. Abia State ($8.69 billion GDP)

Another one of the richest Igbo States in Nigeria is Abia state. Born from parts of Imo state, Abia state is home to 4.1 million individuals, a large percentage of which, live in Aba; the states commercial city.

Aba and Onitsha are the two most commercial and industrialized cities in all of the Igbo Land. The country which is 30 years of age, is home to over 100 (one hundred) oil wells and a few notable gas plants.

With over 15 Local Government Areas, the state is one of the fastest developing Igbo states in Nigeria and it is ranked second on our list thanks to 8billion US dollars in GDP. 

1. Imo State ($14.2 Billion GDP)

Coming in at first place as the richest Igbo state in Nigeria is none other than Imo State. The state is one of the oldest Igbo states in the country and it is home to an estimated 5million persons, 98% of which are Igbo.

The Igbo state is ranked number 1 for many reasons, one of which is its myriad of Natural resources, both organic and inorganic. You see, Imo state is richly blessed with crude oil, with 163 oil wells littered across the state.

Aside from that, natural gases, limestone, calcium carbonate and lead are only but a few of the inorganic natural resources found in the state. Also, bamboo, mahogany, oil palm, obeche and rubber can also be mined and excavated for industrial purposes.

All these and many other factors have contributed to bringing Imo state to the top of our list of richest Igbo States in Nigeria.

Conclusion

There are approximately a 40million people in Nigeria that belong to the Igbo population. This number will only continue to increase over time.

We can only anticipate the impact (hopefully positive), that the Igbo people would have on the Nigerian economy and the world at large.