Design of a city infrastructure quality index

Nigeria recently became the largest economy in Africa. The country’s economic output is outpacing population growth. GDP increased from $31 billion in 1990 to $522 billion in 2013 (averaging an annual growth rate of 5.9 percent), whilst the population increased from 96 million to 170 million during the same period (averaging an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent). Urban areas in particular appear to have generated disproportionately higher rates of economic growth than rural areas. The Nigerian urban business environment, however, discourages investment and frustrates competitiveness, acting as a constraint on economic growth. Inadequate infrastructure is identified as the major constraint to growth and competitiveness. This research project designed a City Infrastructure Quality Index (CIQI) aimed at providing a relative measure of performance in urban infrastructure in Nigeria, focusing specifically on factors of production and resources for inclusive economic growth and development.