3.1.1. Infrastructure

3.1.1. Infrastructure

Nigeria is a regional leader in critical infrastructure.907 Investment for the development and modernisation of roads, railways, ports, airports, electrification infrastructure, pipelines, and dams has been increasing.908 The country, however, presents major infrastructure gaps,909 most notably in electricity, transportation,910 and manufacturing.911 The lack of oil refineries in the country leads to regular fuel shortages.912 Additionally, the Nigerian oil industry is ‘inefficient and costly’, and the domestic oil price per barrel is the second highest among oil-producing countries, after Iran.913 Government-owned refineries reportedly operate at 5 to 25 % annual capacity.914

In 2023, the electricity grid covered 61 % of the population,915 and 80 % of those connected could access electricity for a maximum of six hours per day.916 The electrification of urban and rural areas is 89 % and 27 %, respectively.917 A survey by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on household welfare, income activities, and socio-economic outcomes,918 indicated that access to electricity is higher in urban areas (82.2 % of households) than in rural areas (40.4 %).919 The same source indicated that Nigerian households experience in average 6.7 blackouts per week.920

The World Bank indicated in December 2024 that 80 % of Nigeria’s road network was in ‘poor condition’ due to insufficient funding and weather events, such as high temperatures and rainfalls that damage the roads.921 According to the Ministry of State for Works, insecurity is the major obstacle hindering road construction.922 Large parts of Nigeria remain poorly connected to major economic centres, and these centres are not well integrated to each other.923 Additionally, fees at the inter-state level and roadblocks hinder the ability to move cargo within the country.924

Nigeria’s railway network has about 4 332 track kilometres, most of it in disrepair due to vandalism and conversion of some stretches of the network into farms and residential buildings.925 Daily Trust reported that the Nigerian railway network runs diagonally from the South West (Lagos) to North East (Nguru), and from the South South (Port Harcourt) through Kafanchan to the North East (Maiduguri).926 Urban rapid transit railway projects were inaugurated in Lagos and Abuja in 2023 and 2024, respectively.927 The 157-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan railway was completed in 2021, and the 186-kilometre Abuja-Kaduna railway, in 2016.928

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) website indicated that there are five international and 11 domestic airports929 in the country.930 For additional information see 3.9. Mobility and freedom of movement.

Nigeria has 28 seaports, with two of them considered ‘large’, and 23 of the ports have oil terminals.931 In 2023, Nigeria ranked 25^th among Sub-Saharan African countries for artificial intelligence (AI) preparedness.932 As Nigeria's economic hub, Lagos faces significant energy challenges, including an electricity deficit, high energy costs, reliance on fossil fuels, and infrastructure vulnerabilities.933