Maracaibo is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, located on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the capital of Zulia and is the second-largest city proper in Venezuela, after the national capital, Caracas. The city has an estimated population of 1,752,602, with the metropolitan area estimated at 2,727,957 as of 2019. Maracaibo is commonly nicknamed "Spanish: La Tierra del Sol Amada".