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Atlanta (c-eniconətˈlæntə, c-enætˈlæntə, locally c-enætˈlænə) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. Residents of the city and its surroundings are known as "Atlantans." Atlanta began as a settlement located at the intersection of two railroad lines, and it was incorporated in 1845. Today, the city is major business city and the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States (via highway, railroad, and air), with Hartsfield � Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world's busiest airport since 1998. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Atlanta as an "alpha world city." With a gross domestic product of US$270 billion, Atlanta's economy ranks 15th among world cities and sixth in the nation. The city is a center for services, business, higher education, information technology, and finance. Atlanta contains the country's third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have business operations in the metropolitan area. Atlanta is the world headquarters of corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Delta Air Lines. As of 2010, Atlanta is the seventh-most visited city in the United States, welcoming over 35 million domestic and overseas visitors per year. Atlanta is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, and its population is made up of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. The city contains a large and growing international community, with foreign-born people accounting for 13 percent of Atlanta's population. Atlanta has numerous nicknames, including "ATL", the city's airport code; "Hotlanta", on account of city's mild climate; and "the city in a forest", due to Atlanta's over-abundance of trees. Gentrification of Atlanta's neighborhoods has intensified in the 21st century, altering the city's demographics, culture, and image. |