The Top 7 African Cities With The Worst Traffic Congestion

No one likes to be stuck in traffic. Whether you are driving or being driven, a traffic jam can very easily become the worst part of your day. And that’s due to the many negativities associated with it.

Most people who find themselves in traffic jams are usually impatient to get out of it. And that’s understandable. After all, people are on the road for a reason and that is to get somewhere. Let’s assume you are heading to an important meeting only to get stuck in traffic, your immediate reaction would be to worry. You would worry about getting late for your meeting. And your worry could easily escalate to anxiety. In the end, you could still end up getting late for your meeting. And nobody wants that.

Another negative thing about traffic is that it subjects you to the mistakes of other drivers on the road. Due to the anxiety that characterises most traffic jams, some motorists display aggressive behaviour towards others. And things could escalate quickly.

Potential criminal activities could also happen in the traffic, especially at night. Many people have gotten robbed or in the worst case scenario, killed in traffic. So, the risk factor is a major reason many people dislike traffic.

Finally, there is the issue of pollution. In a situation whereby there are hundreds of vehicles all moving at snails’ pace, motorists would inevitably be subject to inhalation of higher concentrations of carbon dioxide than they would normally inhale. And this can be very hazardous to health.

Do note that factors such as poor road networks, street trading (hawking), bad driving, poor road management systems, etc., have been identified as some of the major causes of traffic congestion across African cities, according to ResearchGate.

But as it’s the case with everything else, some cities have worse traffic situations than others. Below are seven African cities with the worst traffic congestion, according to Numbeo’s traffic index.

The traffic index is “the percentage of additional time a road trip takes due to congestion.”