Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in North-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. With 814,439 inhabitants, Teresina is the 19th largest city in Brazil, and the 15th largest state capital in the country. Together with Timon in the nearby state of Maranhão, it forms a conurbation with a population of about 953,172 inhabitants; the entire metropolitan region of Teresina has over 1,135,920 inhabitants. The only natural barrier that separates Teresina from Timon is the Parnaíba river, one of the largest in the Northeast. Teresina is the second capital with the best quality of life in the North-Northeast according to FIRJAN. According to IPEA it is the third safest capital of Brazil (second only to Natal, and Palmas).