Abuja | |
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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.
Katowice | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 304362 |
Katowice (UK: KAT-ə-VEET-sə, US: KAHT-, Polish: [katɔˈvitsɛ] (listen); Silesian: Katowicy; German: Kattowitz) is a city in southern Poland, the capital city of the Silesian Region, and a center of the Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis. With the population of 292,774 (as of 2019), it is the eleventh-largest city in Poland. The wider Katowice urban area has the population of approximately 2 to 3 million people.
Throughout the mid-18th century, Katowice had developed into a village upon the discovery of rich coal reserves in the area. In 1742 the First Silesian War transferred Upper Silesia, including Katowice, to Prussia. Subsequently, from the second half of the 18th century, many German or Prussian craftsmen, merchants and artists began to settle in the region, which had been inhabited mostly by Poles over the past hundreds of years. Simultaneously Silesia experienced the influx of the first Jewish settlers. In the first half of the 19th century, intensive industrialization transformed local mills and farms into industrial steelworks, mines, foundries and artisan workshops. This also contributed to the establishment of companies and eventual rapid growth of the city. At the same time, Katowice became linked to the railway system with the first train arriving at the main station in 1847.The outbreak of World War I was favourable for Katowice due to the prospering steel industry. Following Germany's defeat and the Silesian uprisings, Katowice and parts of Upper Silesia were annexed by the Second Polish Republic. Poland was then backed by the Geneva Convention and the ethnic Silesian minority.