Lagos

Lagos ( LAY-goss; Yoruba: Èkó [èkó]), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan port city in southwestern Nigeria. As of November 2025, the size of the city's population has been estimated to be between 17 and 21 million residents, making Lagos the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until the government's December 1991 decision to relocate its capital to Abuja, in the centre of the country. Apart from serving as a major African financial center, Lagos has also played a significant role in the national economy, serving as the economic hub of Lagos State and the entire country of Nigeria. The city has a significant influence on commerce, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion in Africa. Lagos is also among the top ten of the world's fastest-growing cities and urban areas. A megacity, it has the second-highest GDP in Africa, and houses one of the largest and busiest seaports on the continent. Due to the large urban population and port traffic volumes, Lagos is classified as a Medium-Port Megacity. Lagos emerged as a home to the Awori people, an Ijebu subgroup of the Yoruba of West Africa, in the 15th century, which is contained across the present-day Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, Amuwo-Odofin, and Apapa. Before the 15th century, the Awori settled on a farmstead along the coastal line, in and around which they worked and lived. Farmstead translates to Ereko in Yoruba, from which comes the Lagos indigenous name Eko. The lands are separated by creeks, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon, while being protected from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km (62 mi) east and west of the mouth. Due to rapid urbanisation, the city expanded to the west of the lagoon to include areas in the present-day Lagos Mainland, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, and Surulere. This led to the classification of Lagos into two main areas: the Island, which was the original city of Lagos, and the Mainland, which it has since expanded into. This city area was governed directly by the Federal Government through the Lagos City Council until the creation of Lagos State in 1967, which led to the splitting of Lagos city into the present-day seven Local Government Areas (LGAs), and the addition of other towns (which now make up 13 LGAs) from the then Western Region to form the state. However, in 1976, the state capital was later moved to Ikeja, and, in 1991, the federal capital was moved to Abuja. Even though Lagos is still widely referred to as a city, the present-day Lagos, also known as "Metropolitan Lagos", and officially as "Lagos Metropolitan Area" is an urban agglomeration or conurbation, consisting of 16 LGAs, including Ikeja, the state capital of Lagos State. While this conurbation encompasses 37% of Lagos State's total land area, it accommodates approximately 85% of the state's total population. The population of Metropolitan Lagos is disputed. In the 2006 federal census data, the conurbation had a population of about 9 million people. However, the figure was disputed by the Lagos State Government, which later released its own population data, putting the population of Lagos Metropolitan Area at approximately 16 million. Daily, the Lagos area is growing by some 3,000 people or around 1 million annually, so the true population figure of the greater Lagos area in 2022 is roughly 28 million (up from some 23 million in 2018). Lagos may therefore have overtaken Kinshasa as Africa's most populous city. The Lagos conurbation is part of an emerging transnational megalopolis on the coast of West Africa that includes areas in five sovereign states, the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor. The University of Lagos is one of the first-generation universities of Nigeria. The business district of Lagos is home to Tinubu Square, named after the aristocrat and slave trader Efunroye Tinubu. Lagos contains Murtala Muhammed International Airport, named after Murtala Muhammad, one of the former Nigerian presidents; the airport is one of the busiest African airports. Lagos National Stadium has hosted various international sports events, such as the 1980 African Cup of Nations.