An emerging megacity, Lagos is a natural mobility hub and has real opportunities in air and sea freight, but will need to invest to grow.
City Class Score
| Commercial Hubs | |
| Export Champions | |
| Mobility Connectors | |
| Climate Resilient |
Corporate HQs, MNC presence, branded outlets, hotels, manufacturing, start-up ecosystem, transport linkages, population, and income.
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Manufacturing, industrial parks, export share and share change by category, air and port infrastructure, freight time to market, trade agreements, and expert interviews.
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Passenger traffic, flight connectivity, air-cargo flights, port infrastructure, container ship sailings, and major road networks.
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Coastal and river flooding, extreme rain, extreme heat and humidity, cyclones, and water scarcity.
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Lagos is the heart of Nigeria’s major cultural exports — Afrobeat music and Nollywood cinema — and a hub for some of the continent’s most exciting startups, making the city fizz with creativity. It’s also a place of striking contrasts. Victoria Island, the city’s business center, is home to sleek skyscrapers and luxury hotels, highlighting Lagos’ role as Nigeria’s commercial and financial powerhouse. Nearby, floating shacks along the Lagos Lagoon house a steady influx of rural migrants driving the relentless expansion that positions Lagos among the world’s biggest megacities.
As Lagos navigates the tides of change, it will encounter both opportunities and challenges shaped by the megatrends at play. The rebalancing of global supply chains may not have a major short-term impact across West Africa, but the long-term outlook is promising, further solidifying Lagos’ status as a mobility hub. More significant than the short- term shifts will be the influence of geopolitics and growth rebalancing, as multinationals seek fresh opportunities beyond China’s maturing markets. West Africa’s large and rapidly developing markets, with GDP growth averaging 3.7% during the last three years and more than 80 cities with populations greater than 250,000, are firmly on the radar.
Given its population of 17 million, Lagos naturally stands out as a transit hub. The city boasts more international connections than any other in West Africa and benefits from a robust domestic market, with more than 20 domestic routes. Policymakers have ambitious plans to elevate the city as a regional hub, just a six- or seven-hour flight from Dubai, London, or Rio de Janeiro, while revitalizing the role of local airlines in serving these markets. However, Murtala Muhammed International Airport has no room for expansion, prompting plans for a second airport outside the city and efforts to transform the airport in Abuja, the nation’s capital more than 600 miles to the northeast, into a major hub.
Lagos already stands as West Africa’s air cargo center, with twice as many international connections and annual flights as its nearest competitors, though it still trails behind Addis Ababa and Nairobi as a continental hub. The commissioning of Lekki Deep Sea Port in 2023 will further help Lagos reclaim its status as a regional transshipment hub. The port’s location 60 kilometers east of the city, far from encroaching urban sprawl, allows it to thrive alongside nearby free-trade zones that support the city’s already substantial manufacturing activity. With the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement in play, Lagos is primed to seize exciting new opportunities for regional exports.
