Lagos has been ranked the world’s most congested city, according to the 2025 Mid-Year Traffic Index by City Report, which placed Nigeria’s commercial hub first among major cities facing gridlock.
The report showed that Lagos ranked first with a traffic index of 365.9, with commuters spending an average of 70 minutes on a one-way journey.
A traffic index is a user-contributed data and composite measure that considers multiple factors such as commute time, dissatisfaction with time spent in traffic, CO2 emissions, and overall traffic system inefficiencies. It provides insights into the overall traffic conditions in a city.
The report showed that the Time Exp. Index of Lagos was at 31,345.86, which indicates the estimated dissatisfaction due to long commute times.
Other indices include the inefficiency index, recorded at 491.66, which indicates inefficiency within the state’s traffic system, and a high use of private cars, with the CO2 emission index at 9,330.80 grams per passenger per round trip.
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San Jose, Costa Rica, with a traffic index of 327.8 and an average one-way commute of 63.3 minutes, ranked 2nd, following Lagos at the top. Los Angeles, United States, came in 3rd, posting a traffic index of 312.5 and a 56.8-minute average commute.
In 4th and 5th place, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, recorded a traffic index of 310.6, with commuters spending around 58.3 minutes on average traveling one way, and Colombo, Sri Lanka, logging a traffic index of 291.6 and a 59.5-minute commute, respectively.
Delhi, India, ranked 6th with a traffic index of 286.2 and 57.8 minutes of average travel time, while Dhaka, Bangladesh, came 7th, recording a traffic index of 278.3 and a 60.2-minute commute.
Kolkata, India, took 8th place, with a traffic index of 269.3 and an average commute of 59.4 minutes.
In 9th position, Guatemala City, Guatemala, posted a traffic index of 262.6 and a 50.3-minute commute, while Mexico City, Mexico, rounded out the top ten in 10th place with a traffic index of 259.1 and a 52.6-minute average commute.
