Uttar Pradesh is bounded by Nepal on the North, Himachal Pradesh on the North West, Haryana on the west, Rajasthan on the south west, Madhya Pradesh on the south and south-west and Bihar on the east. Situated between 23o 52'N and 31o 28 N latitudes and 77o 3' and 84o 39'E longitudes.

Neighbouring states are Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi. Uttar Pradesh also shares a border with Nepal. The world famous monument, Taj Mahal is situated in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the most populated of the Indian states. Notable cities include Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Etawah, Kanpur, Mirzapur and Deoband.

Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the densely populated plains around the Ganges and Yamuna. With 166 million inhabitants, it is not only the most populous state in India, but also the most populous sub-national entity in the world. Only five countries of the world, China, India itself, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil, have a higher population than Uttar Pradesh.

It covers the area of the old princely state of Oudh and the British Province of Agra. They were merged in 1858 to form the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, later known as United Provinces. After independence, it was renamed Uttar Pradesh to retain the short form UP, by which it is best known in India. The state comprises the regions of Rohilkhand in the northwest, Brij (Braj) in the southwest, Awadh (Oudh) in the centre, Bundelkhand in the south and Purvachal in the east.

The languages and customs of the different regions are distinct, and the dialect of the western regions (Khadiboli) is the basis for the official Hindi language. Urdu is also widely spoken in large parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh at a glance:
Date of formation:
Capital: Lucknow
Area: 240,928 sq km, the fourth largest of the Indian states.
Districts: 70
Cities & Towns: 704
Roads:
National Highways ( km):
Population: 166,197,921; Male 87,565,369; Female 78,632,552. State with Highest Population.
Projected Population as on 1st March 2008 (000'): 190,891
Languages: Hindi
Literacy: 41.71% (1991 census)
Climate:
State Animal:
State Bird:
State Tree:
State Flower: To be declared