Tel Aviv-Yafo, usually Tel Aviv, is the second-largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 390,100. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of 51.8 square kilometres (20.0 sq mi). It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, home to 3.15 million people as of 2008. The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa. The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which was largely Arab 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 Modernist-style buildings.
Tel Aviv is Israel's economic hub and its richest city, home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and many corporate offices and research and development centers. Its beaches, bars, cafés, upscale shopping and cosmopolitan lifestyle have made it a popular tourist destination, and given way to its reputation as a "Mediterranean city that never sleeps." It is the country's cultural capital and a major performing arts center. According to 2005 estimates, the Tel Aviv urban area is the Middle East's second biggest city economy, and is 52nd in the world's list of cities by GDP. |
