Nigeria is the African country whose capital is Abuja, which replaced Lagos as the national capital in 1991.
Lagos remains Nigeria’s largest city and a major commercial port, but Abuja was selected as a more centrally located capital. Construction and planning expanded especially from the 1980s, and the federal government moved there on 12 December 1991. The city lies in the Federal Capital Territory, which is separate from Nigeria’s 36 states.
Abuja is known for planned avenues, government buildings and Aso Rock, a prominent granite outcrop beside the capital. Lagos, by contrast, is a densely populated coastal metropolis on the Gulf of Guinea. Confusing the two cities is common because Lagos remains internationally better known and economically dominant.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has a federal political system. Its landscape ranges from coastal wetlands and rainforest to savanna and semi-arid areas in the north.