Isla de la Juventud (Cuba)

Isla de la Juventud (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈizla ðe la xuβenˈtuð]; lit. 'Isle of Youth') is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Island). The island was called the Isle of Pines (Spanish: Isla de Pinos) until 1978. It has an area 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) and is 50 km (31 mi) south of the island of Cuba, across the Gulf of Batabanó. The island lies almost directly south of Havana and Pinar del Río and is a Special Municipality (2,419 km2 (934 sq mi)), not part of any province and is therefore administered directly by the central government of Cuba. The island has only one municipality, also named Isla de la Juventud. The largest of the 350 islands in the Canarreos Archipelago (Archipiélago de los Canarreos), the island had an estimated population of 83,544 in 2019. The capital and largest city is Nueva Gerona in the north, and the second largest and oldest city is Santa Fe in the interior. Other communities include Columbia, La Demajagua (formerly Santa Bárbara), Mac Kinley, Cuchilla Alta, Punta del Este, Sierra de Caballos and Sierra de Casas.