On a consistent basis, Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria’s topmost cities, are found behind their African peers in the IMD Smart City Index ranking on account of poor infrastructure stock, housing affordability issues, among other challenges.
The IMD Smart City Index (SCI) assesses the perceptions of residents on issues related to structures and technology applications available to them in their city.
The 2025 edition of the SCI ranked 146 cities globally by capturing the perceptions of some 100 residents in each city. The final score for each city was computed by using the perceptions of the last three years of the survey, weighted as 3:2:1 for 2025:2024:2023.
Though Lagos and Abuja showed modest progress in the 2025 ranking, according to Business Insider Africa, which reflects ongoing efforts to tackle urban challenges and enhance digital connectivity, the two cities are still far behind four other African countries.
Abuja and Lagos were ranked 133 and 135, respectively, placing them behind Cairo in Egypt, Rabat in Morocco , Cape Town in South Africa, and Algiers in Algeria which were ranked 117, 123, 124, and 128 respectively.
SCI 2025 offers valuable insights into how cities around the world, including those in Africa, are becoming smarter, more connected and more sustainable. According to the report, African cities achieved mixed results, highlighting notable improvements but persistent urban challenges.
The report notes that African cities are making progress in becoming smarter and more sustainable, pointing out that Cairo as the highest-ranked African city at 117th, highlights challenges in infrastructure and affordable housing.
“Nairobi dropped to 136th, facing growing challenges in basic services, healthcare access, safety, and employment. Affordable housing, transport infrastructure, and urban density management are critical issues in the rankings,” the report says.
In an analysis of the rankings, the report notes that Cape Town which ranks among Africa’s top smart cities in the 2025 IMD Smart City Index, was recognized for its strides in digital infrastructure and urban innovation.
Algiers ranked 128th, while Abuja improved slightly, moving up two places to 133rd. Lagos also moved up to 135th, showing some progress in its smart city development.
The report worries, however, that Nairobi dropped to 136th – five places lower than last year, stressing that the decline highlights the growing challenges facing the city, including inadequate basic services, limited access to healthcare, safety concerns and high unemployment.
The report notes that Lagos modest progress in the 2025 ranking reflects ongoing efforts to tackle urban challenges and enhance digital connectivity. But close watchers of efforts by the state government to make the city smarter, say the efforts lack verve and vigour.
This, perhaps, explains why the city was the second-worst to live in among 172 cities worldwide, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its 2022 ranking of the world’s most liveable cities.
With a relatively low score of 32.2 percent, Lagos was just a little above Syria’s war-torn capital, Damascus, and a place behind Libya’s Tripoli. Both cities are hotbeds of wars, conflicts and terrorism. Lagos is not experiencing any of these.
But as in previous surveys, according to the report, living conditions remain the worst in all the bottom 10 cities, including Lagos.
It is hoped, though, that with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Greater Lagos mantra and the administration’s THEMES agenda, the city will make further progress as years roll by.
However, there must be political will and unwavering commitment on the part of the administration to make the needed shift towards a private-led and enabled development in infrastructure and affordable housing for the teeming ‘homeless’ residents of the city.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Chuka Uroko
Quelle/Source: Business Day, 12.05.2025
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