Human population density in Western Africa

The Abidjan–Lagos Corridor, also known as the Abidjan–Lagos Megalopolis, is an emerging transnational

megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...

on the coast of southern

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. It stretches from

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, crossing five independent states (

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

) from west to east, and includes three political capitals and many regional economic centers. The corridor has a length of approximately 965

kilometers The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American and Philippine English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is the preferred measu ...

(600

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

s). Within the megalopolis, a significant portion of West Africa's economic output is generated, and cities within the corridor are among the most economically developed of their respective countries, for which agglomeration effects and access to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

are responsible. The population within the region is experiencing rapid growth, and nearly 50 million people are expected to live within the corridor by 2035. According to projections, by the end of the 21st century, the region could become the largest urban region with continuous settlement in the world, then with up to half a billion inhabitants. After the

decolonization of Africa The decolonisation of Africa was a series of political developments in Africa that spanned from the mid-1950s to 1975, during the Cold War. Colonial governments gave way to sovereign states in a process often marred by violence, political turm ...

, politically independent states emerged in

and urban growth accelerated. Migrants moved from the interior to the more developed coastal areas, for example in Ghana to the region around

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

or in Nigeria to the metropolitan region of Lagos. Rapid urban growth led to the merging of previously independent settlements into large agglomerations with an economic division of labor. This occurred first domestically and later in transnational regions (e.g., between Lagos and neighboring Benin). However, urban growth was largely unplanned and led to severe

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

, as little investment was made in the construction of multi-story housing. Future investment needs are therefore very high. Due to the linguistic, cultural and political differences between the countries located in the corridor, the region's economic potential has not yet been fully exploited. There has been little alignment of standards and construction of common infrastructure, and even within the countries, transportation links are often unreliable.

Cities

Listed from west to east.

Abidjan-Lagos Highway

Construction of a highway route from Abidjan to Lagos ( Abidjan-Lagos Highway) is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion targeted for 2030. The project, spanning , is expected to cost $15.6 billion and increase regional economic integration. The

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...

is involved in the financing. So far, the Dakar-Lagos Highway forms the main transport axis in the region.

Airports

Cadjehoun Airport Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport (formerly known as Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport) is an airport in the Cadjehoun neighborhood of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, in West Africa. The airport is the largest in the country, and the ...

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport , also known as Port Bouët Airport, is located south east of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is the largest airport in the country for air traffic. The airport is the main Airline hub, hub of the national ...

Kotoka International Airport Kotoka International Airport is an international airport in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The airport is operated by Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), which has its offices on the airport property. Until the upgrading of the Tamale and Ku ...

Lomé–Tokoin International Airport Lomé–Tokoin International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport international de Lomé-Tokoin'') , also known as Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport international Gnassingbé Eyadéma''), is an international airport servin ...

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Murtala Muhammed International Airport Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) () is an international airport located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and is the major airport serving the entire state. The airport was initially built during World War II and is named after Murt ...

Takoradi Airport Takoradi Airport is an airport in Sekondi-Takoradi, a city and capital of Western Region southern Ghana. It is the fourth busiest airport in Ghana, with 124,930 passengers in 2024. History Second World War: Takoradi air route During World W ...

Sekondi-Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi ( ) is a city in Ghana comprising the Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Weste ...

Metro systems

* Abidjan Metro *

Lagos Metro Lagos Rail Mass Transit is a rapid transit system in Lagos State. The rail system is managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority ( LAMATA). The railway equipment including electric power, signals, rolling stock, and fare collectio ...

Ports

* Port of Abidjan * Port of Cotonou * Port of Lagos * Port of Lomé * Port of Tema * Port of Takoradi

External links

The Lagos Abidjan Corridor
doctoral thesis at

ETH Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ra ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Abidjan Lagos Transborder agglomerations