Albacete [] is a city and municipality Spanish of the
autonomous community of
Castile-La Mancha, capital of the
homonymous province. It is located to the southeast of the
Iberian Peninsula and the
Meseta Central in the historic region of
La Mancha, specifically in the historic region of La Mancha de Montearagón, it currently falls within the region of
Los Llanos, being the only municipality in this region, in the Levante, in its western boundary. It is, broadly, the largest and most populated city of Castilla-La Mancha, with 172 487 inhabitants (2014), experiencing since mid-
twentieth century, a very important population growth. In even broader terms, it is the most populous capital of South Submeseta after
Madrid, the capital of Spain, and one of the cities most populous inland Spain. Its metropolitan area, which amounts to 219 121 inhabitants, is the largest metropolitan area of Castile-La Mancha and one of the twenty main urban areas of the country. The municipality of Albacete is the seventh largest in Spain with .