Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, El Salto, Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, and Juanacatlán. These areas form the "Guadalajara Metropolitan Area" (Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara in Spanish), which is the most populous in the state of Jalisco and the second most populous in the country after the Mexico City Metropolitan area. This metropolitan area had a population of 4,298,715 in 2008. Municipal presidents of Guadalajara Education Guadalajara is an important hub for higher education in both Mexico and Latin America, as the home to numerous nationally and internationally ranked universities and research centers. The most important is the University of Guadalajara, which was established on October 12, 1791, by royal decree. The entity underwent a number of reorganizations since then, but the modern university as it exists today was established in 1925, when the governor of Jalisco convened professors, students and others to re-establish the university. These precepts were organized into a law called the "Ley Organica." It was ranked fifth among the best Mexican universities in 2012. Guadalajara is home to Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG), which was founded in 1935 and is the oldest private university in Mexico, and Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA), and the Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education. The city hosts campuses of several private schools, including: Universidad Panamericana Universidad La Salle ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Universidad del Valle de México Universidad del Valle de Atemajac In addition, the city hosts numerous international schools, including: American School Foundation of Guadalajara (ASFG) Lycée Français de Guadalajara Colegio Alemán de Guadalajara Transportation Guadalajara is well connected by a number of modern highways. These include Fed 15D, which connects the city northwestward to Nogales, Sonora, via Tepic, Nayarit and eastwards to Mexico City via Morelia; Fed 80D which runs northwest toward Aguascalientes; and Fed 54D which runs southward to the coast via Colima. The city's well-connected transportation infrastructure allows easy access to Mexico City, to the southeast, and to the major beach resorts of Manzanillo, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta to the southwest, northwest, and west, respectively. The Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport, also known as Guadalajara International Airport (ICAO code: MMGL) opened in 1966. It is located south of downtown Guadalajara, and it was built on the Tlajomulco de Zuñiga city, near Chapala. The airport is the third most active in the country (after Mexico City