ISAS Working Papers

Andhra Pradesh comprises of 23 districts and has three well-defined regions viz., Telangana, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. Geographically, it is the fourth largest state (276814 sq. km) in India. It is situated on the globe in the tropical region between 12014 and 19054 North latitudes and 76046 and 84050 East longitudes and is bordered by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the East, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west2. The State has a coastline of 974 kilometres. It occupies 8.34 percent of the country’s geographical area and supports 7.37 percent of the country’s population (Census 2001). Andhra Pradesh is the fifth largest by population and has a population of 7.69 crore. Sixty-three percent of the total population is from rural areas. Andhra Pradesh's gross state domestic product for 2005 is estimated at $62 billion in current prices. Andhra Pradesh is a predominantly services economy: • 49 per cent of the total GDP comes from the services sector • Industry accounts for 27 per cent of GDP • Agriculture accounts for 24 per cent