Longman was incorporated in August 1961 as a book publishing company. It developed as an off-shoot of the well-known International Company, Longman Group UK Limited, now known as Pearson Education Limited, which is the world's largest education business.

The largest educational publisher in Nigeria
Its mission at inception was the marketing and distribution of imported Longman Group titles, as well as developing publishing in English and the indigenous languages to meet the growing book requirements of the Nigerian market. Today, Longman Nigeria has become the largest educational publisher in Nigeria with a total of 280 staff spread across the country. Longman Nigeria Plc was listed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange on 23 July, 1996, and now has the highest equity value in the publishing sector.

Longman Nigeria has its headquarters located at Ikeja and has full warehousing and regional offices at Abuja, Agbor, Akure, Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Owerri and Zaria with Representatives and other functionaries located in virtually every state of the federation.

Longman Nigeria publishes educational materials for learners of all ages and interests ranging from pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary to the post graduate and professional levels. Its publications enjoy wide prescriptions at all tiers of education and are consistently extolled by all users for their excellent quality and pedagogical adequacy.

In addition, Longman plays the role of marketing and distribution agent for companies within the Pearson Education group and handles imprints from Addison-Wesley Longman, Prentice Hall, Pitman and Penguin, amongst others. With an all-Nigerian management team, Longman's objective is to sustain its leadership position through the provision of educational products of the highest quality. It has a commitment to optimal customer satisfaction and a well-motivated workforce. It has continued to serve its shareholders satisfactorily by ensuring consistently good returns through the provision, to its customers, of excellent products and services.

Publisher of some of Nigeria's most successful learning texts
Longman has achieved an enviable reputation for its ability to identify, encourage and utilise the services of talented Nigerian authors. This effort has enabled it to publish some of Nigeria's most successful learning texts, such as New General Mathematics, Stone & Cozens Biology, Practical English and the English Project series. Longman's publishing skills and authorship resources are formidable, its book distribution network is the most comprehensive and dynamic in Nigeria, while its products enjoy world-wide acclaim for their content and value.

Longman's leading role in publishing in Nigeria has enabled her to secure and efficiently execute several key book-related contracts from governments and allied agencies. Longman Nigeria Plc was one of the few publishers appointed at the inception of the UPE in 1976, to fashion out a number of books in the core subject areas of Mathematics, English and Science at the primary level, for use in the implementation of the scheme. The company has subsequently participated in all the branches of the World Bank