Santa Cruz de Tenerife (commonly known as Santa Cruz) is the capital (jointly with Las Palmas), second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009. It is, depending on sources, the 13th, 14th, or 16th-most populous metropolitan area in Spain, with the population 404,913, 481,592 or 581,947. Santa Cruz is the second largest city and metropolitan area of the European Union outside Europe. Santa Cruz de Tenerife is also the capital of the island of Tenerife (most populated of archipelago and Spain) and capital of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Located in northeast quadrant of Tenerife, about 210 kilometres (130 mi) off the northwestern coast of Africa within the Atlantic Ocean. Between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927 Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands, until 1927 when a decree ordered that the capital of the Canary Islands be shared, as it remains at present. The port is of great importance and is the communications hub between Europe, Africa and Americas, with cruise ships arriving from many nations. The city is the nerve center on domestic and inter-island communications in the Canary Islands.