Bucaramanga is the capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth largest economy in Colombia, and has the eighth largest population in the country, with 530.900 people. Bucaramanga has over 160 parks scattered throughout the city and has been given the nickname "La Ciudad de Los Parques" and "La Ciudad Bonita de Colombia".Bucaramanga has grown rapidly since the 1960s, mostly into neighboring locations within the metropolitan area. Floridablanca, Girón and Piedecuesta are inextricably linked geographically and commercially with Bucaramanga, forming the 7th largest metropolitan area in Colombia with 1,276,329 inhabitants.The city is the base of the Colombian Petroleum Institute, the research branch of the state oil company Ecopetrol and the Colombian Natural Gas Company.
