Tel Aviv (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב; Arabic: تل أبيب) is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 405,000 and a land area of 52 km2 (20 sq mi). The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in central-west Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, home to 3,401,700 residents. The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai. Residents of Tel Aviv are referred to as Tel Avivim. As the United Nations and many countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Tel Aviv is home to most foreign embassies.
Tel Aviv was founded by the Jewish community on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Hebrew: יָפוֹ Yafo; Arabic: يافا Yāfā) in 1909. Jewish immigration meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings.
Tel Aviv is an economic hub, home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, corporate offices and research and development centers. It is the country's financial capital and a major performing arts and business center. Tel Aviv has the second-largest economy in the Middle East after Dubai, and is the 31st most expensive city in the world.
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