Editing Lagos (section)

== Social situation, informal economy ==
There is a huge spectrum of wealth distribution among the people that reside in Lagos. It ranges from the very wealthy to the very poor. Lagos has attracted many young people and families seeking a better life from all other parts of Nigeria and beyond.<ref name="first">{{cite magazine |last1=Draper |first1=Robert |last2=Hammond |first2=Robin |date=1 January 2015 |title=Lagos Nigeria: Africa's First city |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/lagos/draper-text |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223053916/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/lagos/draper-text |archive-date=23 December 2014 |magazine=National Geographic |access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://www.cicred.org/pripode/CONF/NAIROBI/pdf/Okuneye.pdf |access-date=11 July 2016 |title=ANALYSIS OF THE INTERPLAY OF MIGRATION AND URBAN EXPANSION, ON HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE CASE OF LAGOS, NIGERIA |author1=Okuneye P. A. |author2=Adebayo, K. |author3=Opeolu B.T. |author4=Baddru F.I. |publisher=Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED) |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827205849/http://www.cicred.org/pripode/CONF/NAIROBI/pdf/Okuneye.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

In some parts of Lagos, residents have one of the highest standards of living in Nigeria and in Africa.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ogunlesi |first=Tolu |date=4 May 2014 |title=Commercial hub status of Lagos sparks a chain reaction |newspaper=Financial Times |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/66249de4-bb16-11e3-948c-00144feabdc0.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 March 2016 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210221254/https://www.ft.com/content/66249de4-bb16-11e3-948c-00144feabdc0#axzz439BBFQBZ |archive-date=10 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=21 October 2013 |title=Luxury living in Lagos |publisher=CNBC Africa |url=http://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/special-reports/real-estate/the-rise-of-luxury-living-in-lagos/ |access-date=16 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319211227/http://www.cnbcafrica.com/insights/special-reports/real-estate/the-rise-of-luxury-living-in-lagos |archive-date=19 March 2016}}</ref>

Reliable data on [[unemployment]], [[Poverty threshold|income below the subsistence level]], etc. are hardly available for Lagos – as for the whole region – and must be taken with scepticism where they are provided, e.g. in other articles (see also the previous chapter). The reason for this is the widespread "''[[informal economy]]''" (not to be confused with "[[Black market|shadow economy]]") in West Africa. Insufficient jobs in traditional wage labour force people to look for work elsewhere. 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.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Onigbinde |first=Oluseun |title=LAGOS' INFORMAL SECTOR Taxation & Contribution to the Economy |url=https://ng.boell.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2017/02/budgit_final_report_30.1.17.pdf |access-date=1 February 2017 |publisher=Heinrich Böll Foundation (Nigeria)}}</ref>

According to the [[International Monetary Fund]], about 5.5 million people are employed in the informal economy in Lagos State alone – about three-quarters of Lagos' workforce.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=THE INFORMAL ECONOMY IN NIGERIA – THISDAYLIVE |url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/07/11/the-informal-economy-in-nigeria |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=thisdaylive.com |language=en}}</ref> Throughout Lagos, one can observe street vendors, artisans, sellers, small and micro enterprises, shared taxis, tricycles and motorbikes (okada drivers), domestic workers, market traders<ref name=":11" /> and others engaged in the informal sector.

Activities in the informal economy are not included in economic statistics. As a result, the wealth of the population, but also e.g. unemployment, is significantly underestimated if the massive informal economy is not taken into account.<ref name=":12" />