According to the Planning Commission of India, in the financial year 2011-12 the state was second in nominal GDP, and in GDP per capital it ranks fourth.[2] Andhra Pradesh GDP in financial year 2011 was 567636 crore (US$87 billion).[3] It is historically called the "Rice Bowl of India".[4] More than 77% of its crop is rice; Andhra Pradesh produced 17,796,000 tonnes (19,616,732 short tons) of rice in 2006.[5] Two of the mega cities of the state - Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam - were listed among the top 15 cities contributing to India's overall Gross domestic product.[6]
Andhra Pradesh has the longest coastline (of 972 km (604 mi)) among all the states of India.[7] Two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, run across the state. The small enclave (30 square kilometres (12 sq mi)) of Yanam, a district of Pondicherry, lies in the Godavari delta to the northeast of the state. The state comprises three regions: Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. The state's most populous cities are Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Warangaland Nellore (2011 census).
The primary official language of Andhra Pradesh is Telugu[8] and the co-official language is Urdu. Other languages often spoken in the state include Hindi, Marathi,Tamil, Kannada and Oriya.[9]
Modern history[edit]
Inspired by their success, the Vijayanagara Empire, one of the greatest empires in the history of Andhra Pradesh and India, was founded by Harihara and Bukka, who served as treasury officers of the Kakatiyas of Warangal.[28] In 1347 CE, an