Abuja | |
---|---|
State | Federal Capital Territory |
Country | Nigeria |
Capital | |
Population | 776298 |
Postcode | 900001 |
Abuja () is the capital city of Nigeria situated in the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It's a planned city and was built mainly from the 1980s, replacing the nation's most populous city of Lagos as the capital on 12 December 1991. Abuja's geography is characterized by Aso Rock, a 400-metre (1,300 feet ) monolith left by water erosion. The Presidential Complex, National Assembly, Supreme Court and much of the city extend into the south of the rock. Zuma Rock, a 792-metre (2,598 feet ) monolith, lies just north of the city on the expressway to Kaduna.
At the 2006 census, the city of Abuja had a population of 776,298 which makes it among the ten most populous cities in Nigeria. According to the United Nations, Abuja climbed by 139.7% between 2000 and 2010, which makes it the fastest growing city in the world.
As of 2015, the town is experiencing an annual growth of 35%, retaining its position as the weakest city on the African continent and among the fastest-growing in the world.
Earth | |
---|---|
State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. About 29% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 71% is covered with water, mostly by oceans but also lakes, rivers and other fresh water, which together constitute the hydrosphere. Much of Earth's polar regions are covered in ice. Earth's outer layer is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over many millions of years. Earth's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates Earth's magnetic field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics.
According to radiometric dating estimation and other evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Within the first billion years of Earth's history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to the proliferation of anaerobic and, later, aerobic organisms. Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as early as 4.1 billion years ago. Since then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, physical properties and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive. In the history of life on Earth, biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion, occasionally punctuated by mass extinctions.