Claim: Delhi is surrounded by land.

Uttar Pradesh -LRB- -LSB- ` Utt'@r_pr@'dEsh -RSB- -RRB- , abbreviated as UP , is the most populous state in the Republic of India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world . The state , located in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent , has over 200 million inhabitants . It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces during British rule , and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950 . Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh . The main ethnic group is the Hindi people , forming the demographic plurality . 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 , Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to the northwest , Uttarakhand and Nepal to the north , Bihar to the east , Madhya Pradesh to the south , and touches the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the southeast . It covers 93933 sqmi , equal to 7.33 % of the total area of India , and is the fourth largest Indian state by area . Hindi is the official and most widely spoken language in its 75 districts along with English . Uttar Pradesh is the third largest Indian state by economy , with a GDP of and the fourth-largest contributor to India 's net domestic product .  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 , Agra , Varanasi , Allahabad , Kaushambi , Ballia , Shravasti , Gorakhpur , Chauri Chaura , Kushinagar , Lucknow , Jhansi , Bareilly , Budaun , Meerut , Mathura and Shahjahanpur .