A survey by Brand Finance City Index 2023 has put Lagos as the fifth best African city with a strong desirability among people to live, work, and invest in.

Lagos ranks 56.7% behind Cape Town (South Africa), Cairo (Egypt), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Casablanca (Morocco) as the top four African cities, with 62.9, 60.7, 59.7, and 59.5 percent respectively.

Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, also appears on the list as the sixth African city with 55.1%, just behind Nigeria.

The only six African nations to make the list of the 100 finest cities in the world are Cape Town, Cairo, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Lagos, and Nairobi, which are ranked 60, 67, 72, 76, 90, and 94 on the worldwide rankings.

London (England) is named the finest city brand in the world, with a score of 84.6%, followed by New York (the United States) and Paris (France), which score 83.0% and 79.7%, respectively.

The report said, “The ranking is based on a global survey of close to 15,000 members of the public conducted in April 2023 in 20 countries on all continents to measure perceptions of the world’s top 100 cities.”

The Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, David Haigh, while speaking on the survey, said, “London’s exceptional performance in the Index can be attributed to its global familiarity.

“Coming first on this particular measure, London has a huge advantage over its peers, leading to its success in the ranking overall as the world’s best city.

“Knowing a city allows the public to form positive perceptions about it – to recognise its reputation and to consider it as the preferred place to live, work, study, retire, visit, or invest.

“High familiarity means a deeper understanding of its qualities and a broader reach of its appeal, allowing the city to draw significant economic benefits from inbound migration, investment, and tourism.”

Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi