A 2023 report by Brand Finance City has ranked Lagos as the fifth best African city with high desirability by people to live, work, and invest in.

According to the report, Nigeria’s commercial city polled 56.7per cent in a survey conducted behind Cape Town (South Africa), Cairo (Egypt), Johannesburg (South Africa), and Casablanca (Morocco) as the first four best African cities with 62.9, 60.7, 59.7, and 59.3 per cents respectively.

Meanwhile, Cape Town, Cairo, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Lagos, and Nairobi are the only six African countries that appear on the 100 world’s best cities as numbers 60, 67, 72, 76, 90, and 94 respectively on global rankings.

On the global stage, London (England) is reported to be the world’s best city brand in the ranking scoring 84.6 per cent, while New York (the United States) and Paris (France) come as 2nd and 3rd garnering 83.0 and 79.7 per cent respectively.

“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 report reveals.

Speaking on the survey, the Chairman and CEO of Brand Finance, David Haigh 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.