A Rapidly Growing City

Posted by pvaidyanathan on

Population Growth

Fig. 1. “Lagos Population Growth Chart.” Graph from “Lagos Population 2019.” World Population Review, 2019.

The population of Lagos has been growing at an exponential rate since 1950 and is projected to grow even faster in the coming years (World Population Review). This is part of the reason why studying transportation in the area is so imperative, and why any existing problems could only continue to get worse as the population continues to climb.


  • “Map 3: Metropolitan Lagos, 1950.” Infrastructure Development and Urban Facilities in Lagos, 1861-2000, by Olukoju, Ayodeji, Institut français De Recherche En Afrique, 2003, p. 15.

  • “Fig. 4: Map of Metropolitan Lagos, 2000.” Infrastructure Development and Urban Facilities in Lagos, 1861-2000, by Olukoju, Ayodeji, Institut français De Recherche En Afrique, 2003, p. 17.

These maps show the expansion of the metropolitan area. The first one shows continuous expansion from 1850 to around 1950 (Olukoju 15). It starts with the dark area around Lagos island, and each subsequent section expands more into the mainland of Lagos. The right map shows Lagos in 2000 (Olukoju 17). It’s very clear that the metropolitan area is no longer confined to the relatively small area closer to the coast. It now spans much of Lagos State, though Lagos Island is still the heart of the metropolitan area. 

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