Uttar Pradesh (literally "Northern Province"), abbreviated as UP, is a state located in Northern India . It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces, and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. Ghaziabad , Kanpur , Allahabad Moradabad , Bareilly , Aligarh , and Varanasi are known for their industrial importance in the state. On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttarakhand , was carved out from the Himalayan hill region of Uttar Pradesh.
The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the west, Haryana and Delhi to the northwest, Uttarakhand and the country of Nepal to the north, Bihar to the east, Madhya Pradesh to the south and touches small areas of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the south eastern corner. It covers 243,290 square kilometres (93,933 sq mi), equal to 6.88% of the total area of India, and is the fourth largest Indian state by area . With over 200 million inhabitants in 2011, it is the most populous state in the country as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world . Hindi is the official and most widely spoken language in its 75 districts. Uttar Pradesh is the third largest Indian state by economy , with a GDP of ₹ 9763 billion (US$150 billion). Agriculture and service industries are the largest parts of the state's economy. The service sector comprises travel and tourism , hotel industry , real estate , insurance and financial consultancies.
Uttar Pradesh was home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and Yamuna , join at Allahabad and then flow as the Ganges further east. The state has several historical, natural, and religious tourist destinations, such as the Agra , Varanasi , Piprahwa , Kaushambi , Kanpur , Ballia , Shravasti , Kushinagar , Lucknow , Jhansi , Allahabad , Budaun , Meerut and Mathura , Jaunpur .
