The city of San Salvador (English: "Holy Saviour") is the capital city of the Republic of El Salvador. San Salvador is a part of the San Salvador Department, one of fourteen in the nation. San Salvador is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center. As a "gamma" global city, San Salvador is one of the most important financial centers in Central America. It is located in the Salvadoran highlands, surrounded by volcanoes and prone to earthquakes, which is why the Pipil and the Spaniards called the area in which the city is located "el valle de las hamacas" (the valley of the hammocks, "salcoatitan" in Pipil language). The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 540,000 people (2.3million metropolitan), making it the third largest Central American city and the second largest metropolitan area. San Salvador is nicknamed "San Sivar" by Salvadorans.