Tel Aviv-Yafo usually referred to as Tel Aviv, is the second-largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 404,400. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, over a land area of 51.4 square kilometres (19.8 sq mi). It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, home to 3.3 million people as of 2010 The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai. Residents of Tel Aviv are called Tel Avivians.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa (Hebrew, Yafo; Arabic, Yaffa). 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 Bauhaus buildings.
Tel Aviv is classified as a beta+ world city. The city is a major economic hub, home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and many corporate offices and research and development centers. Its beaches, parks, bars, cafés, restaurants, shopping, cosmopolitan lifestyle and 24-hour culture have made it a popular tourist destination for domestic and overseas tourists alike, contributing to its reputation as "the city that never sleeps". Tel Aviv is the country's financial capital and a major performing arts and business center. The economy of Tel Aviv was ranked second in the Middle East, and 50th globally by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index. It is the most expensive city in the region, and the 17th most expensive city in the world. New York City-based writer and editor David Kaufman named it the "Mediterranean's New Capital of Cool". In 2010, Tel Aviv has been named the third-best city in the world by Lonely Planet, third-best in the Middle East & Africa by Travel + Leisure magazine, and one of the best beach cities in the world by National Geographic.