Lagos Travel Guide, Nigeria

Lagos is a city located in the southwestern part of Nigeria, on the Bight of Benin, which is an arm of land in the Atlantic Ocean.  This is the largest city in Nigeria, as well as its principal cultural and economic center and chief port.  Lagos served as the capital of Nigeria up until 1991, which is when the federal government seat was moved to central Nigeria in Abuja.

The metropolitan area of the city spreads across a lot of the Lagos State, which is situated on adjacent parts of the mainland and 4 principal islands.  These islands are connected together and to the mainland as well with landfills and bridges.  The major parts of the city are:  the old city, of which serves as Lagos's commercial district and is located on Lagos Island; Apapa, which is its chief port district on the mainland; Ikoyi Island, which is joined by a landfill and is east of Lagos Island;  Victoria Island, which is the residential area; and Iddo Island, which has been industrialized.

Population and Culture

The population of Lagos is very diverse and growing quickly, which is a result from ongoing and heavy migration from other parts of the country, as well as other countries nearby.  During 1992, Lagos was estimated to have a population of around 1,347,000.  The metropolitan area was estimated to have a population of 10.1 million during 2003.  The UN predicts that the metropolitan area of the city, which only had around 290,000 people during 1950, will have more than 20 million inhabitants by 2010, which will make Lagos one of the 5 largest cities in the world.

Economy

Lagos is the leading port for Nigeria, particularly with the importing of foodstuffs, machinery, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, and motor vehicles.  The port is also involved in the export  trade of agricultural products, like groundnuts and cacao, but this has been declining since the 1970s.  Over half of the industrial capacity of the country is located in the mainland suburbs of Lagos, particularly in the industrial estate of Ikeja.  There is a wide variety of manufactures produced in Lagos as well, which include electronic equipment, beer, textiles, processed food, motor vehicles, machinery, and chemicals.

Transportation

The Murtala Muhammad International Airport is situated in the northwest suburbs of the center of Lagos.  The unregulated and rapid growth, combined with the fragmented geography's challenges, are the result of chronically congested traffic on the roads of the city.  Despite the congestion, there isn't much transportation on boats or ferries between the mainland and islands.

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