Administration and demographics

In terms of administration, Lagos is not a single municipality and therefore has no overall city administration.^[65] The geographical city limits of Metropolitan Lagos comprises 16 of the 20 Local Government Areas, which together comprise Lagos State. The latter entity provides overall government for the metropolitan region. The Municipality of Lagos, which covered Lagos Island, Ikoyi and Victoria Island as well as some mainland territory, was managed by the Lagos City Council (LCC), but it was disbanded in 1976 and divided into several Local Government Areas (most notably Lagos Island LGA, Lagos Mainland LGA and Eti-Osa LGA).^[66]
The mainland beyond the Municipality of Lagos, on the other hand, comprised several separate towns and settlements such as Mushin, Ikeja and Agege. In the wake of the 1970s Nigerian oil boom, Lagos experienced a population explosion, untamed economic growth, and unmitigated rural migration. This caused the outlying towns and settlements to develop rapidly, thus forming the present day "Lagos Metropolitan Area", also known as "Metropolitan Lagos". The history of Lagos is still evidenced in the layout of the LGAs which display the unique identities of the cultures that created them.
By 2006, the metro area around Lagos had extended beyond Lagos State's boundaries and attained a megacity status. This much larger area is referred to as "Greater Metropolitan Lagos" or "Lagos Megacity Region", which is a continuous built up land area of additional 1,535.4 square kilometres (592.8 square miles), comprising sprawls in LGAs situated next to Lagos' eastern and western city limits in Lagos State, and beyond northern limits, spilling into the LGAs in adjoining Ogun State. Ogun State LGAs within Greater Metropolitan Lagos majorly include: Obafemi Owode, Sagamu, Ifo, Ado-Odo/Ota and part of Ewekoro.^[33]

The 16 LGAs of Metropolitan Lagos

Local Government Area	Land area[67] (in km²)	Population[31] (2006 Census)	Density (inh. per km²)
Agege	17	459,939	41,071
Ajeromi-Ifelodun	13.9	684,105	55,474
Alimosho	137.8	1,277,714	6,899
Amuwo-Odofin	179.1	318,166	2,364
Apapa	38.5	217,362	8,153
Eti-Osa	299.1	287,785	1,496
Ifako-Ijaiye	43	427,878	16,078
Ikeja	49.92	313,196	6,785
Kosofe	84.4	665,393	8,174
Lagos Island	9.26	209,437	24,182
Lagos Mainland	19.62	317,720	16,322
Mushin	14.05	633,009	36,213
Ojo	182	598,071	3,781
Oshodi-Isolo	41.98	621,509	13,886
Somolu	14.6	402,673	34,862
Surulere	27.05	503,975	21,912
Metropolitan Lagos	1,171.28	7,937,932	7,941

A map showing the 16 LGAs making up Lagos Metropolitan Area

Today, the word Lagos most often refers to the urban area, called "Metropolitan Lagos" in Nigeria, which includes both the islands of the former municipality of Lagos and the mainland suburbs. Lagos State government is responsible for some of the utilities including roads and transportation, power, water, health, and education. Metropolitan Lagos extends over 16 of the 20 LGAs of Lagos State, and contains about 85% of the population of Lagos State, and includes semi-rural areas.^[68] Lagos City has a considerable number of high-rise buildings which dominate its skyline. Most of the tall buildings are located in the downtown Central Business District.
Lagos was the former capital city of Nigeria but it has since been replaced by Abuja. Abuja officially gained its status as the capital of Nigeria on 12 December 1991, although the decision to move the federal capital had been made in now Act no. 6 of 1976. Lagos is also home to the High Court of the Lagos State Judiciary, housed in an old colonial building on Lagos Island.^[69]

Census data for Lagos

Although the 2006 National Population Census of Nigeria credited the metropolitan area with a population figure of 7,937,932, the figure is at variance with some projections by the UN and other population agencies and groups worldwide. The population figure of Lagos State given by the Lagos State Government is 17,553,924. It was based on claimed conducted enumeration for social planning by the Lagos State Government "parallel census" and it believes that since the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Lagos constitute 88% of the Lagos State population, the population of metropolitan Lagos is about 15.5 million.^[70]
A rejoinder to Lagos State Government views^[71] concluded that Lagos State concealed the fact that the population projection, for Lagos Urban Agglomeration by the UN agencies had been revised downwards substantially as early as 2003. It failed to interpret the two most important and fairly representative and reliable secondary data sets already in public domain, the National Identity Card Scheme and the 2003 Voters Registration figures from INEC. The figures for 2007 Voters Registration by INEC were an act subsequent to the release of the provisional census results and comprehensively corroborate, vindicate and validate the population figures in no uncertain terms. According to the official results of the 2006 census, there were 8,048,430 inhabitants in Metropolitan Lagos.^[31] This figure was lower than anticipated, and has created controversy in Nigeria. Lagos Island, the central Local Government Area and historic centre of Metropolitan Lagos, had a population of 212,700 at the 2006 Census.^[72]

Lagos market scene

Authorities of Lagos State have attacked the results of the 2006 census, accusing the Nigerian National Population Commission of having undercounted the population of the state. This accusation is denied by the National Population Commission.^[73][74] A study found that research carried out by Africapolis (the African subsidiary of e-Geopolis backed by the Agence française de développement), in addition to the cross-referencing of official figures with more scientific independent research concluded that the 2006 census figures for Lagos State of about 9 million were valid and that the state's own assessments are inflated.^[75]
Lagos is, by most estimates, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.^[76] Lagos is currently experiencing a population increase of about 275,000 persons per annum. In 1999 the United Nations predicted that the city's metropolitan area, which had only about 290,000 inhabitants in 1950, would exceed 20 million by 2010 and thus become one of the ten most populated cities in the world.
There is a huge spectrum of wealth distribution among the people that reside in Lagos. It ranges from the very wealthy to the very poor. Lagos has attracted many young people and families seeking a better life from all other parts of Nigeria and beyond^[55] and this has also contributed to its cosmopolitan status.^{[77][78][79][80]}

Economy

Shopping in Lagos.

The city of Lagos is a major economic focal point in Nigeria, generating around 10% of the country's GDP. Most commercial and financial business is carried out in the central business district situated on the island. This is also where most of the country's commercial banks, financial institutions, and major corporations are headquartered. Lagos is also the major Information Communications and Telecommunications (ICT) hub of West Africa and potentially, the biggest ICT market in the continent.^[81] Lagos is developing a 24-hour economy^[82][83][84] and has also been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world.^{[85][86][87][88][89][90]} In some parts of Lagos, residents have one of the highest standards of living in Nigeria and in Africa.^[91][92] At the same time, a sizable proportion of the residents live in slums without access to piped water and sanitation.^{[93][94][95][96][97]}
The Port of Lagos is Nigeria's leading port and one of the largest and busiest in Africa. It is administered by the Nigerian Ports Authority and it is split into three main sections: Lagos port, in the main channel next to Lagos Island, Apapa Port (site of the container terminal) and Tin Can Port, both located in Badagry Creek, which flows into Lagos Harbour from the west.^[98] The port features a railhead. The port has seen growing amounts of crude oil exported, with export figures rising between 1997 and 2000.^[99] Oil and petroleum products provide 14% of GDP and 90% of foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria as a whole.^[100]