Maracaibo (Spanish pronunciation: [maɾaˈkaiβo]) is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state. The population of the city is approximately 1,495,200 with the metropolitan area estimated at 2,108,404 as of 2010. Natives or residents are known as Marabinians in English (Spanish: Marabinos). Maracaibo is nicknamed La Tierra del Sol Amada ("The Beloved Land of the Sun").