JUST IN: Lagos rated 4th worst city to live in

The fourth-ranked city in the world with the worst living conditions is Lagos, the commercial hub of Nigeria.

Lagos is ranked as the fourth worst city to live in according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2023 Global Liveability.

In order to compile its findings, the research examined 173 cities and considered 30 qualitative and quantitative variables under the headings of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Lagos came in first place, ahead of the capitals of Tripoli, Libya, Algiers, Algeria, and Syria’s war-torn Damascus.

Lagos, according to EIU, rose in the rankings due to advancements in healthcare and education, but the organization also noted that corruption is still widespread.

In 2022, Lagos was the second worst liveable city after retaining the position for two consecutive years and was only behind Damascus which has been held down on the list by social unrest, political upheaval, terrorism, and conflict.

“Even at the bottom of our rankings, 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.

“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.”

Vienna, the Austrian capital, and Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, retained their positions as first and second most liveable cities in the world owing to their “unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education, and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment”.

Melbourne and Sydney, cities in Australia, and Vancouver in Canada came in as third, fourth, and fifth places respectively on top of the ranks