The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister publication of The Economist of London, says Lagos, is the worst global city to live anywhere in the world — after Damascus in war-torn Syria.
According to its 2017 liveability report, which considers 140 major cities, Melbourne in Australia retained its crown as the best city to live anywhere in the world, for seven years running.
Vienna, Austria, where the headquarters of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is located, comes in as the second most liveable city in the world.
Vienna is closely followed by Canadian cities, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary at the third, fourth and fifth spots respectively. Calgary, however, ties with Australian city, Adelaide.
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EIU considers stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure, in determining the liveability of cities across the globe. The unit blamed terrorism for the fall in the standing of Lagos, Nigeria.
“Terrorism has also been compounded by unrest and, in more extreme cases, civil war in some countries. Iraq, Libya, Syria and Turkey remain the subject of high-profile civil unrest and armed conflicts, while a number of other countries, such as Nigeria, continue to battle insurgent groups,” the report read.
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“Of the more poorly scoring cities, 12 continue to occupy the very bottom tier of liveability, where ratings fall below 50% and most aspects of living are severely restricted.
“Continued threat from groups such as Boko Haram acts as a constraint to improving stability in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city.”
According to the rating, Tripoli in Libya is a better city to live in than Lagos, Nigeria.
Manchester in the UK had the highest drop for the year, after a terror attack killed 22 people at the Ariana Grande concert in the city back in May 2017.
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6 comments
Somebody please help me call Ambode, I understand he is still on the way, when will he arrive and salvage the rating.
“Continued threat from groups such as Boko Haram acts as a constraint to improving stability in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city” Can someone tell these novice that Lagos to Boko Haram heartland is as far as Libya to Italy (1778 km). God please save us from the ignorant.
Let’s not get emotional about this. Lagos is an urban jungle. We should take correction and improve our cities for the benefit of our people. Is it for nothing that most Nigerians are looking for visa to flee their own country? We’r the most travelled people on the planet. What’s chasing us away from our own country? Think about it.
Thank you. People don’t get it. Liveability measures the convenience and access to basic comforts like transportation, infrastructure, education etc and security.
How easy is it for a vulnerable teenage girl or elderly woman to travel across your city at 10pm in the night by herself?
Does your system take care of the poor and vulnerable ones through the provision of adequate basic services at all times?
Nigeria is not there at all. We have not even started. I live in Canada and I have lived in Lagos. The difference is night and day.
21 million people and rising. Lagos is by no means short of a war torn city. It is far safer from crime than Johannesburg or Rio. Admittedly, it is not a city for the faint hearted and you need to be strong to endure. Las Gidi or Eko (choose your pet name) is vibrant, full of swag, friendly people, great music, culture, noise. So you shouldn’t read too much into this survey. (And I’ve lived in Montreal, Baltimore, London, Lusaka, Nairobi, Harare, Accra, Freetown, Joburg)
Too many people take this rating a bit too literally. Indeed, Lagos is not one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations for a reason. It is, however, one of the African cities with high foreign direct investment flows and the financial sector is usually quite right in its evaluation of localities.
Therefore, let’s take this rating as a strong message that Lagos has plenty of areas where it can improve, rather than the flat-out condemnation so many people seem to take this rating for.