The State of Mérida commonly known simply as Mérida is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Mérida, in the Libertador Municipality. Located in the Western Andean Region, Mérida State covers a total surface area of 11,300 square kilometres, making it the fifteenth-largest in Venezuela. In 2011, had a census population of 828,592, the fourteenth most populous.