According to a recent assessment by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister newspaper of The Economist of London, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, is now the fourth worst city in the world to live in.
Lagos was higher than Algiers, the capital of Algeria, Tripoli, the capital of Libya, and Damascus, Syria, in the EIU’s 2023 World Liveability assessment.
30 qualitative and quantitative indicators were employed in the report’s analysis of 173 cities, divided into five main categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.
After claiming the title for two years in a row, Lagos was the second least livable city in 2022, behind only Damascus, which was kept down on the list by social upheaval, terrorism, and violence.
Lagos rose in the rankings, according to EIU, as a result of advancements in healthcare and education, although corruption remains an issue.
“Cities like Lagos (Nigeria) and Algiers (Algeria), which are near the bottom of our rankings, have made progress thanks to certain upgrades to their healthcare and educational systems. According to the analysis, both are in energy-exporting nations and have profited to some degree from rising global oil and gas prices.
Although corruption is still a problem, more public financing has been made available for public services and infrastructure, both of which have benefitted from decreased corruption cases.
Due to their “unparalleled combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment,” the capital cities of Denmark and Austria, Vienna and Copenhagen, respectively, have maintained their rankings as the first and second most liveable cities in the world.
Cities from Australia, including Melbourne and Sydney, Canada, and Vancouver, placed third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in the rankings.
Lagos’s previous rankings
Lagos was ranked as the worst place to live in the world in 2017 after a study of 140 nations.
Lagos’ prospects improved in 2018, moving up from Bangladesh in India and Damascus to claim third place for the least livable city.
The economic centre of Nigeria, however, was named the most unsafe place to live in in 2019.
