According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Lagos, Nigeria, ranks fourth among the top 5 most uncomfortable cities to live in the world.
The ranking is attributed to pervasive corruption, although there have been slight improvements in healthcare and education. Despite challenges like infrastructure issues and corruption, Lagos has seen a slight improvement compared to the previous year’s ranking as the second most uncomfortable city.
Despite its vibrant economy and bustling atmosphere, Lagos faces challenges that contribute to its low ranking, including pervasive corruption and infrastructure issues. However, the city has shown some improvements in healthcare and education, leading to a slight gain in its overall ranking.
Top 5 Most Uncomfortable Cities to Live in 2023
- Damascus, Syria (173)
- Tripoli, Libya (172)
- Algiers, Algeria (171)
- Lagos, Nigeria (170)
- Karachi, Pakistan (169)
According to the survey, Lagos received a ranking of 170 out of 173 cities, making it the fourth most uncomfortable city to reside in. The report attributes Lagos’s ranking to the pervasive influence of corruption. However, there has been a slight improvement in certain areas such as healthcare services and education, leading to a slight gain in ranking.
The report states,
“Cities such as Lagos (Nigeria) and Algiers (Algeria) have gained ground, with some improvements in their healthcare and education systems. Both are in countries that are energy exporters and have to some extent benefited from higher global oil and gas prices.”
Nonetheless, corruption continues to exert a significant negative impact on Lagos, as mentioned in the report. It also states that, despite some additional funding for infrastructure and public services, Lagos still faces challenges. However, the decline in COVID-19 cases has had a positive effect on the city’s liveability.
- “Although corruption continues to be an issue, some additional public funding has been made available for infrastructure and public services, which have also benefited from the decline in covid cases. However, war-ravaged Damascus (Syria), the lowest-ranked city in our survey, has seen no improvement in its liveability scores despite the regional political comeback of its president, Bashar al-Assad.”
- “Contrary to these improvements, the war in Ukraine and the resulting economic and political disruption are affecting liveability in many European cities. Unsurprisingly, this is most noticeable in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which re-joins the survey this year (we were forced to exclude it following Russia’s invasion in 2022).
- “However, the city’s score has fallen by 5.9 percentage points since 2021 owing to the damage the war has done to its stability, infrastructure and general liveability. It has now become one of the bottom ten cities in our liveability index”.
Despite being the hub of commerce and trade in Nigeria, Lagos has encountered numerous challenges, including infrastructure problems and corrupt practices. For instance, the Murtala Mohammed Airport has suffered from underinvestment, resulting in a subpar passenger experience, processing capacity issues, and service bottlenecks, as highlighted by the International Air Transport Association during the launch of Focus Africa in April.
In the 2022 EIU report, Lagos was ranked the second most uncomfortable city to live in, so its current position at number four represents a slight improvement.
Lagos currently has a population of over 15 million people, according to the World population review.