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Kenyan capital, Nairobi tops 6 cities in Africa for innovation and ranks among the top 100 globally, according to Knight Frank’s Africa Horizons Report 2021/22.
Nairobi ranked ahead of Cape Town (South Africa) which was second, Kampala (Uganda) third with Cairo (Egypt) and Johannesburg (South Africa) in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Here is a list of Africa’s most innovative cities
1. Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya.
The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to ‘place of cool waters’, a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city.
The city has a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census.
The city is commonly referred to as The Green City in the Sun.
2. Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest city.
It serves as the country’s legislative capital, being the seat of the South African Parliament.
It is the country’s second-largest city (after Johannesburg) and the largest in the Western Cape.
In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by The New York Times and similarly by The Daily Telegraph in 2016.
3. Kampala, Uganda
Kampala is the capital and largest city of Uganda.
The city proper has a population of 3,846,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Rubaga Division.
4. Cairo, Egypt
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the country’s largest city, home to over 22 million people.
It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East.
5. Johannesburg, South Africa
Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa, classified as a megacity.
According to Demographia, the Johannesburg–Pretoria urban area (combined because of strong transport links that make commuting feasible) is the 26th-largest in the world in terms of population, with 14,167,000 inhabitants.
It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa.
Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa.
6. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Dar es Salaam region is one of Tanzania’s 31 administrative regions and is located on the east coast of the country.
The region is comparable in size to the combined land and water areas of the nation-state of Mauritius.
According to the 2022 census, the region has a total population of 5,383,728 and the national census of 2012 had 4,364,541.
The region has the highest population in Tanzania followed by Mwanza Region.
7. Lagos, Nigeria
Lagos or Lagos City is the most populous city in Nigeria, with an estimated population of 26 million and around 30 million in the Lagos metropolitan area.
Lagos is the most populous urban area in Africa.
It was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 following the government’s decision to move their capital to Abuja in the centre of the country.
Lagos is a major African financial centre and is the economic hub of Nigeria.
8. Dakar, Senegal
Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal.
The city of Dakar proper has a population of 3,430,000, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2021.
9. Accra, Ghana
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.
As of the 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, 20.4 km2 (7.9 sq mi), had a population of 284,124 inhabitants, and the larger Greater Accra Region, 3,245 km2 (1,253 sq mi), had a population of 5,455,692 inhabitants.
10. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia.
The estimated population of Addis Ababa in 2023 reached 5,460,591, whereas back in 1950, the population stood at 392,000.
Addis Ababa is a highly developed and important cultural, artistic, financial and administrative centre of Ethiopia.
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