India's south-eastern coastline region is home to the state of Andhra Pradesh. It has a total size of 162,975 km2 (62,925 sq mi), making it the seventh-largest state by area. With 49,386,799 people, it is also the tenth-most populous state. Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and the Bay of Bengal are its neighbors to the north, north-west, north, east, and south, respectively. It has roughly 974 kilometers of coastline, which is the second-longest in India after Gujarat (605 mi). On October 1, 1953, Andhra State became the first state in India to be established on the basis of a language. United Andhra Pradesh was created on November 1st, 1956, by joining the Telugu-speaking portions of Hyderabad State (ten districts) with Andhra State. In order to create the new state of Telangana, these combined areas of Hyderabad State were split off from United Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The current form of Andhra is comparable to the state of Andhra, however some mandalas, such Bhadrachalam, remain in Telangana. The largest city in the current Andhra state is Visakhapatnam, with Amaravati serving as its capital. Andhra Pradesh was historically a significant Buddhist pilgrimage site and a center for Buddhist study, as evidenced by the numerous monastery ruins, chaityas, and stupas that can be seen throughout the state. Koh-i-Noor and other well-known diamonds from the Kollur Mine are also known to have originated in this region.It is also a significant rice producer and is referred to as the "Rice Bowl of India." Telugu, one of India's ancient languages and the fourth most spoken language overall in the world, serves as the country's official tongue. Urdu is the second official language in Andhra Pradesh. The Rigvedic literature Aitareya Brahmana from the eighth century BCE mentions the earliest inhabitants, the Andhras, who can be traced back to the Vedic era. The Aitareya Brahmana claims that the Andhras moved from North India to South India from the banks of the Yamuna river. Southeast India's Assaka Mahajanapada (700–300 BCE) was a former monarchy that was situated between the Godavari and Krishna rivers.The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranas all mention that locals are descended from the Viswamitra. [More information required] The Satavahanas, the first kings of Andhra Pradesh and India and also known as Andhras, are the source of the region's name. By erecting temples and statues of Buddhist monuments in the state, people from the aforementioned era contributed to the development of local art and culture. The Mauryan Empire, the Satavahana dynasty, the Salankayanas, the Andhra Ikshvakus, the Pallavas, the Vishnukundinas, the Eastern Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Cholas, the Kakatiyas, the Vijayanagara Empire, the Gajapati Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Deccan sultanates. Ashoka's vassal kingdom of Andhra in the third century BCE grew in strength after his death and expanded its dominion to include the entirety of Maratha region and beyond. Andhra Pradesh is divided into three main regions: Rayalaseema in the southwest, Coastal Andhra on the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal, and Uttarandhra in the northeast. There are 26 districts in the state, including 6 in Rayalaseema, 12 in Coastal Andhra, and 12 in Uttarandhra. Yanam, a district of Puducherry, which is located south of Kakinada in the Godavari delta on the eastern side of the state, is another union territory that the state has a boundary with. With a gross state product (GSDP) of $8.84 trillion (US$110 billion) and the 17th-highest GSDP per capita ($2,100) in the nation, Andhra Pradesh has India's eighth-largest economy. According to the Human Development Index, Andhra Pradesh is the 27th-ranked Indian state (HDI). Nearly 15,000 square kilometers (5,800 sq mi) of territorial seas are under its purview. Andhra Pradesh was the third-most visited state in India in 2015 with 121.8 million visitors, a 30% increase over the previous year. With 18.25 million visitors annually, the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati ranks among the most popular religious destinations worldwide. Other pilgrimage sites in the area include the Pancharama Kshetras, the Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga, and the Kodanda Rama Temple. The beaches of Visakhapatnam, hill towns like the Araku Valley and Horsley Hills, and the deltas of the Godavari and Krishna rivers are just a few of the state's natural attractions.
