Due to rapid urbanisation, the city expanded to the west of the lagoon to include areas in the present day Lagos Mainland, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, and Surulere.

[1][36][46][47] The Lagos conurbation is part of an emerging transnational megalopolis on the coast of West Africa that includes areas in five sovereign states, the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor.

In the wake of the 1970s Nigerian oil boom, Lagos experienced a population explosion, untamed economic growth, and unmitigated rural migration.

It failed to interpret the two most important and fairly representative and reliable secondary data sets already in the public domain, the National Identity Card Scheme and the 2003 Voters Registration figures from INEC.

[62][63] A study found that research carried out by Africapolis (the African subsidiary of e-Geopolis backed by the Agence française de développement), in addition to the cross-referencing of official figures with more scientific independent research concluded that the 2006 census figures for Lagos State of about 9 million were valid and that the state's own assessments are inflated.

[83] It also has the National Museum of Nigeria, the Central Mosque, the Glover Memorial Hall, Christ's Church Cathedral (CMS) and the Oba's Palace (Iga Idunganran).

Though formerly in a derelict condition, Lagos Island's Tinubu Square is a site of historical importance; it was here that the Amalgamation Ceremony that unified the North and South protectorate to form Nigeria took place in 1914.

The expanse of land starts from the Lekki toll gate, which was the focal stage of the famous #EndSars protest in October 2020, and ends in Ibeju-Lekki and boasts of communities slowly inching their way to suburb status such as Ajah, Awoyaya, Sangotedo, Abijo, and Eputu.

This, in turn, has led to consistently new box office revenue records in Nigeria (2009's "The Figurine", 2013's "Half of a Yellow Sun", 2016's "The Wedding Party", 2023's "Battle on Buka Street").

Programmes in pidgin English or in Yoruba have moved to digital streaming services and offer action films, comedies and heartbreak productions.

[126][127] For decades, there was no oil processing industry in Nigeria, apart from illegal refineries in the Niger Delta (which are very polluting due to the lack of cracking).

[140] However, company founder and CEO Oluwatobi Ajayi is struggling with insufficient demand and the increase in the price of imported components due to the devaluation of the local currency, the naira, in 2023.

When fully operational, the plant, the largest south of the Sahara, is expected to employ 250,000 people and produce 2.5 million 50-kg bags of rice annually.

[citation needed] Following the re-modernization project achieved by the previous administration of Governor Raji Babatunde Fashola, Lagos is gradually becoming a major tourist destination, being one of the largest cities in Africa and the world.

[158] On Wole Olateju Crescent, in the immediate vicinity of Lekki Bridge,[159] there are several companies that offer boat tours and rent kayaks or jet skis.

Nightclubs are mainly found on Victoria Island, where the well-to-do and foreign guests hang out, and around Adeniran Ogunsanya Street in Surulere.

[173] Homosexuals, but also their "supporters" such as people who have attended a same-sex wedding in another country, or hotel staff who have provided a room for a queer couple, theoretically can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

[178] Since its foundation in 2011, Alexis Galleries have been engaged in the presentation and dissemination of Nigerian contemporary styles including; painting, drawing, mixed media, and sculpture.

[191] The Experience is a decibel-rich gospel concert hosted by the evangelical House of the Rock Church in packed Talewa Balewa Square on the first Friday in December.

[193] Some of the famous dishes in Lagos include Indigenous delicacies such as eba and egusi; amala and ewedu; jollof (the go-to party dish); ofada rice; plantains (locally called dodo); beans; suya (spicy shish kebab or spiced roasted beef), which is consumed in local clubs and bars with a bottle of cold beer; and eba, made from cassava and eaten with soups prepared with vegetables and mixture of spices and herbs.

Lagos has a vibrant nightlife[111][194][196] and has given birth to a variety of styles such as Sakara music, Nigerian hip hop, highlife, juju, fuji and Afrobeats.

[199] Other foreign musicians who have also performed in the city include Sean Paul, Snoop Dogg,[200] 50 Cent, Akon, Jarule, Ashanti, Usher, Shaggy,[201] R Kelly,[202] Cardi B, Migos especially during the Star Mega Jam; Shakira, John Legend, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Boyz II Men,[203] T-Pain, Brian McKnight, JayZ,[204] Mary J. Blige,[205] Beyoncé, Brandy, Ciara, Keri Hilson and Lauryn Hill.

This, in turn, has led to ever-new records in box office takings in Nigeria (2009: "The Figurine", 2013: "Half of a Yellow Sun", 2016: "The Wedding Party").

[217] By way of qualification, it must be made clear that index lists of countries or cities are usually not based on verifiable or locally collected data,[218] but often on subjective assessments by Europeans or North Americans.

The CPI of Transparency International, for example, is, according to its own definition, "based on the perceived assessment of lay people and experts and is not reduced to actual experience and its analysis".

This benefits the informal sector of the economy, where there is no minimum wage and workers pay no taxes, have no holiday or labour rights and often work in unsafe conditions.

[227] Throughout Lagos, one can observe street vendors, artisans, sellers, small and micro enterprises, shared taxis, tricycles and motorbikes (okada drivers), domestic workers, market traders[226] and others engaged in the informal sector.

[229] Strikingly, according to the NST, Nigeria's two largest cities, Lagos and Kano, are significantly safer than rural areas when it comes to homicides.

The Lagos healthcare system is divided into public and private sectors that provide medical services at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels.

[243] Lagos's importance as a commercial centre and port and its strategic location have led to it being the end-point of three Trans-African Highway routes using Nigeria's national roads.