Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria and the second most populous in Africa after Cairo. The Lagos metropolitan area is currently the 17th most populated in the world. The former capital of Nigeria, Lagos is a huge metropolis which originated on islands such as Lagos Island, separated by creeks, fringing the south-west of Lagos Lagoon near its mouth, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From this beginning Lagos has spread on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation including Ikeja and Agege now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island. With a liveability ranking of 60.1% (0% being exceptional quality of life and 100% being intolerable), The Economist rated Lagos 130th out of 132 cities.