PAINTING 9 copy, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA Postcard

Lagos State is the smallest state in Nigeria, yet it has the second highest population after Kano State. According to the 1991 national census, Lagos State had a population of 5,725,116 out of a national total of 88,992,220.[4] However, the preliminary results of the 2006 census show that Lagos State has now 9,013,534 inhabitants out of a national total of 140,003,542.[2] This is nonetheless less than what was anticipated. Authorities of Lagos State have consequently attacked the results of the 2006 census, accusing the National Population Commission of having undercounted the population of Lagos State, an accusation strongly denied by the National Population Commission.[5] The rate of population growth is about 275,000 persons per annum with a population density of 2,594 persons per sq. kilometre. In the urban area of Metropolitan Lagos, the average density is 8,000 persons per square kilometre on average (up to 55,000 inh. per sq. km. in the densest parts of the urban area). In a UN study of 1999, the city of Lagos was expected to hit the 24.5 million population mark by the year 2015 and thus be among the ten most populous cities in the world, but this projection must now be revised downward due to the results of the 2006 census