Accra vs Lagos It's Ghana’s crown jewel
versus Africa’s powerhouse. It's Accra versus Lagos.
We will compare these two places using factors such as unemployment rate,
population, business and investment prospects and opportunities,
ease of transportation and water supply amongst other things.
In its own right, Lagos is basically, the business capital of West Africa
as well as being the largest and most populated city in Africa. There simply isn’t
any competition in the finance sector to Lagos on the continent. Lagos goes further leaps and bounds
as its megaprojects and infrastructure are second to none on the continent.
Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city by far, sprawls inland from the Gulf of Guinea across the Lagos
Lagoon. Victoria Island, the financial centre of the metropolis, is known for its beach resorts,
boutiques and nightlife. To the north, Lagos Island is home to the National Museum of Lagos,
displaying cultural artefacts and craftworks. Nearby is Freedom Park,
once a colonial-era prison and now a major venue for concerts and public events. Populous cities
or countries usually offer better employment opportunities because of their large economies.
Accra is the capital of Ghana, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa.
Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park honours Ghana’s first president, who helped lead the country
to independence. The park contains Nkrumah’s mausoleum and a museum charting his life.
Makola Market is the city’s vast, colourful bazaar. Popular seafront spots;
Labadi Beach and Kokrobite Beach offer golden sand and high-energy nightlife.
Accra is the most densely populated city in Ghana.
The central business district of Accra contains the city's main banks and department stores,
as well as an area known as the Ministries, where Ghana's government administration is concentrated.
Economic activities in Accra include the financial and commercial sectors, fishing,
and the manufacture of processed food, lumber, plywood, textiles, clothing, and chemicals.
In 20 20, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network think tank
designated Accra as a gamma-level global city,
indicating a growing level of international influence and connectedness.
Big cities attract companies and business investment and are usually important cultural
centres and research hubs. Lagos has a population of nearly 8 million people
which in comparison is close to the population of New York City in the U.S,
America’s most populated city. Accra, on the other hand has a population of 2.6 million people.
Population density shows how cramped or spread-out inhabitants are.
Cities or countries with high population densities can be considered overpopulated,
which can be a problem if the infrastructure is underdeveloped.
In that regard, Lagos has a population density of around 6800 people per square kilometer
while Accra has a population density of 1,300 people per square kilometer.
Cities or countries with younger populations usually have better development perspectives.
Young societies are more dynamic and creative.
Lagos has a very young entrepreneurial population with an average age of 19 years
while approximately 56% of the people in Accra are under the age of 24.
The female population tells us how many eligible women can enter the workforce, The percentage of
female residents, according to the city's official statistics. This figure for Lagos is slightly less
than that of men with women being 47.8% of the population. There is a slightly higher population
of males than females in the Accra, which is on par with numbers recorded across the country.
The unemployment rate is a huge determiner of a city’s productivity with that said,
a low unemployment rate indicates better career opportunities and economic growth and vice versa.
Lagos has an unemployment rate of 21% while 11% of Accra’s inhabitants are unemployed.
Let us look at the average rent of a single-bedroom apartment located in the
city centre. This indicates how much of your salary would be allocated to rent expenses and
the general cost of living in the city. In Lagos, this value is about 1900 U.S. dollars per annum.
This figure is approximately 3500 U.S. dollars per annum in Ghana.
The average salary per person is probably one of the most attractive attributes of a
particular city and it indicates a higher quality of living, this value is about
9350 annually in Lagos and 7800 U.S. dollars annually in Accra.
The Mercer annual survey ranks 221 cities across Africa and around the world based on living
standards using 39 criteria. The important criteria are safety, education, hygiene,
healthcare, culture, environment, recreation, political-economic stability and public transport.
Lagos came in 212th place according to this classification while Accra was at the 165th place.
The cost of monthly public transport ticket indicates the affordability of
public transportation for an average inhabitant. For Lagos’ inhabitants,
this figure is around 24 U.S. dollars and 27 U.S. dollars for Accra’s inhabitants.
And a very important aspect, the average cost of monthly basic utilities electricity,
heating, cooling, water, and garbage for an 85 meters squared apartment. This figure is
about 26 dollars in Lagos and is about 53 dollars in Accra.
The average monthly price of internet of 60 Mbps or more, with unlimited data,
cable or A.D.S.L. This amount is about 57 dollars in Lagos and 49 dollars in Accra.
An indicator of how safe people feel walking alone in the city during the day,
with 1 being very unsafe and 10 being very safe. This is very important as it also throws light on
its crime rate and gang activity. About 4 out of 10 Lagos inhabitants say they are unsafe walking
alone in the city while 5 in 10 Accra inhabitants say they are unsafe walking alone in the city.
An indicator of how drinkable the tap water is, with 1 being not drinkable
and 10 being very drinkable. We have to give Lagos and Accra a 3 out of 10 on this because
they both have very poor water supply not to mention its suitability to drink.
The average cost of a taxi starts on a normal tariff. Taxi start is an initial charge incurred
at the start of a journey. It is a fixed part of the overall fare and is sometimes also called
flag-fall, base fare, or flag-down fare. This figure is lower than 2 dollars in Lagos and Accra.
Conclusion There is a
myriad of aspects we could bring up to compare Accra and Lagos
and by doing so we might exhaust the entire day by just going through facts.
So, to save you the trouble we’ve brought out just a few interesting and rather odd facts about
these two cities which are vaguely comparable in terms of the scale, industry and business.
We hope this video educates and informs you on some interesting facts you probably didn’t know
about Accra or Lagos as these aren’t exactly front-page aspects that get thrown in your face
all the time. We hope we shed some new light and gave you a sharper perspective on the daily lives
of both Accra and Lagos inhabitants. However, we still want to know what your opinion on the issue.
Which city do you think is better and why? Let us know in the comments.
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