Zulia, estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. Zulia is bounded north by the Gulf of Venezuela and west by Colombia. Except for two narrow corridors on the southeastern shore, the largest one lying between the states of Mérida and Trujillo, it surrounds Lake Maracaibo.
The state is composed mainly of lowlands, hot and humid in the south and hot and arid in the north. The land rises in the west into the Sierra de Perijá and in the southeast into the Mérida Range. Formerly one of Venezuela’s poorer states, dependent upon limited agricultural resources, Zulia was radically changed economically after the discovery of oil in 1914 and especially after World War II. The petroleum industry at Lake Maracaibo is located in one of the richest oil-producing regions of the world. Refineries, pipelines, and thousands of oil derricks dot the landscape. In agriculture, Zulia is among the country’s main suppliers in a wide variety of categories, including oil palms, grapes, milk, cheese, eggs, bananas, and plantains. It is ranks near the top of Venezuela’s states in terms of fish catch and in the raising of cattle, sheep, poultry, and goats. Other important crops include sugarcane, coconuts, cassava, cotton, beans, melons, cacao, corn (maize), and sorghum. The largest of the lakeside cities is the state capital, Maracaibo, the second largest city of Venezuela. Transportation to the oil centres is excellent. Area 24,400 square miles (63,100 square km). Pop. 2,983,679; (2011) 3,704,404.