| State of Louisiana State of Louisiana |
|
| Coordinates | 31°NB, 92°WL |
| General | |
| Surface | 134.382 km² (16,0% water) |
| Residents | 4.574.836 (40,5 inhabitants/km²) |
| Capital city | Baton Rouge |
| Politics | |
| Governor | John Bel Edwards (D) |
| Other | |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time (UTC−6) |
| Joined | 30 april 1812 |
| Nickname | Pelican State |
| Website | louisiana.gov |
Louisiana (French: Louisiane) is one of the states of the United States of America. The standard abbreviation for the “Pelican,” as the state’s nickname goes, is La. (not to be confused with the city of Los Angeles which has the same abbreviation). The capital is Baton Rouge.
Geography
Bayou Corne in southern Louisiana
The state of Louisiana covers 134,382 km², of which 112,927 km² is land. It belongs to the Central time zone and to the so-called Deep South.
According to JIBIN123.COM, Louisiana, which is located on the Gulf of Mexico, is bordered to the north by the state of Arkansas and Mississippi, to the west by Texas and to the east by Mississippi.
The main river is the Mississippi, which forms much of the border with the state of the same name and flows into the Gulf of Mexico 150 km beyond New Orleans, via the Mississippi River Delta. The state is rich in larger and smaller lakes, including Lake Pontchartrain, the Toledo Bend Reservoir, Grand Lake, and White Lake. Louisiana also has many islands, such as Marsh Island and the Chandeleur Islands.
The highest point of the fairly flat state is the top of Driskill Mountain (163 m). Much of the coastal area is formed by swamps, the bayous, which were created because the Mississippi, whose course changed over the centuries, used to flow through it.
Administrative division
Unlike other states, Louisiana is not divided into counties, but into parishes. The state has 64 such parishes.
List of parishes in Louisiana
According to COUNTRYAAH, the US state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes. Although the name is different, the parishes are similar to the counties in 48 of the other US states. When Louisiana was taken over from France by the United States, the area was divided into areas roughly coinciding with the church parishes then existing in the area. The term survived in the Louisiana Constitution of 1845.
In the south of the state, 22 parishes form a separate region: Acadiana (after ancient Acadia) or Cajun Country. Louisiana has recognized this area as a distinct region because of its distinct culture of French origin.
| Parish | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
County Seat | Inhabitants 1 July, 2007 |
| Acadia | 59.958 | Crowley | 14.011 |
| Allen | 25.524 | Oberlin | 1915 |
| Ascension | 99.056 | Donaldsonville | 7497 |
| Assumption | 22.991 | Napoleonville | 667 |
| Avoyelles | 42.169 | Marksville | 5668 |
| Beauregard | 34.776 | DeRidder | 10.096 |
| Bienville | 14.907 | Arcadia | 2767 |
| Bossier | 108.705 | Benton | 2853 |
| Caddo | 252.609 | Shreveport | 199.569 |
| Calcasieu | 184.512 | Lake Charles | 70.270 |
| Caldwell | 10.307 | Columbia | 450 |
| Cameron | 7414 | Cameron | 1464 |
| Catahoula | 10.452 | Harrisonburg | 727 |
| Claiborne | 16.283 | Homer | 3427 |
| Concordia | 19.058 | Vidalia | 4142 |
| De Soto | 26.269 | Mansfield | 5412 |
| East Baton Rouge | 430.317 | Baton Rouge | 227.071 |
| East Carroll | 8302 | Lake Providence | 4318 |
| East Feliciana | 20.833 | Clinton | 1891 |
| Evangeline | 35.905 | Ville Platte | 8282 |
| Franklin | 20.060 | Winnsboro | 4873 |
| Grant | 19.758 | Colfax | 1661 |
| Iberia | 74.965 | New Iberia | 32.910 |
| Iberville | 32.501 | Plaquemine | 6728 |
| Jackson | 15.139 | Jonesboro | 3725 |
| Jefferson | 423.520 | Gretna | 15.984 |
| Jefferson Davis | 31.177 | Jennings | 10.546 |
| LaSalle | 14.041 | Jena | 2864 |
| Lafayette | 204.843 | Lafayette | 113.554 |
| Lafourche | 92.713 | Thibodaux | 14.158 |
| Lincoln | 42.562 | Ruston | 21.005 |
| Livingston | 116.580 | Livingston | 1688 |
| Madison | 11.858 | Tallulah | 7707 |
| Morehouse | 28.783 | Bastrop | 11.908 |
| Natchitoches | 39.485 | Natchitoches | 18.177 |
| Orleans | 239.124 | New Orleans | 239.124 |
| Ouachita | 149.502 | Monroe | 51.208 |
| Plaquemines | 21.540 | Pointe à la Hache | — |
| Pointe Coupee | 22.392 | New Roads | 4763 |
| Rapides | 130.079 | Alexandria | 45.857 |
| Red River | 9195 | Coushatta | 2116 |
| Richland | 20.469 | Rayville | 4040 |
| Sabine | 23.683 | Many | 2756 |
| St. Bernard | 19.826 | Chalmette | 9491 |
| St. Charles | 52.044 | Hahnville | 3016 |
| St. Helena | 10.620 | Greensburg | 626 |
| St. James | 21.578 | Convent | — |
| St. John the Baptist | 47.684 | Edgard | 2913 |
| St. Landry | 91.362 | Opelousas | 23.058 |
| St. Martin | 51.651 | St. Martinville | 7019 |
| St. Mary | 51.311 | Franklin | 7760 |
| St. Tammany | 226.625 | Covington | 9493 |
| Tangipahoa | 115.398 | Amite City | 4297 |
| Tensas | 5865 | St. Joseph | 1114 |
| Terrebonne | 108.424 | Houma | 32.618 |
| Union | 22.773 | Farmerville | 3655 |
| Vermilion | 55.691 | Abbeville | 11.667 |
| Vernon | 47.380 | Leesville | 5957 |
| Washington | 44.920 | Franklinton | 3712 |
| Webster | 40.924 | Minden | 13.049 |
| West Baton Rouge | 22.625 | Port Allen | 5058 |
| West Carroll | 11.553 | Oak Grove | 1987 |
| West Feliciana | 15.113 | St. Francisville | 1555 |
| Winn | 15.521 | Winnfield | 5140 |
Demography and Economics
Louisiana had a population of 4,468,976 (33 per km²), of which about 68% of the population lives in an urban area. The largest cities are New Orleans, the capital Baton Rouge and Shreveport. The state has two official languages: English and French.
In 2001, the state’s gross product was $149 billion. The South Louisiana Harbor stretching 87 km along the Mississippi is one of the largest in the world. Furthermore, the state lives from tourism, agriculture and the oil industry with oil being extracted both in the state and off the coast.
Louisiana holds the dubious honor of having the highest number of inmates per capita of any US state (1341 inmates per 100,000 population in 2012). The US already has the highest number of prisoners per capita in the world. Additionally, Louisiana has the highest murder rate per capita of any US state (10.8 per 100,000).
Politics
Louisiana State House
The executive branch of the state is headed by a governor, who is directly elected by the voters in the state. Louisiana’s current governor is Democrat John Bel Edwards, who was inaugurated in January 2016. He was re-elected in 2019 to a second term in office, which runs until 2024.
The legislature consists of the Louisiana House of Representatives (Louisiana House of Representatives) with 105 members and the Louisiana Senate (Louisiana State Senate) with 39 members.
Compared to many other US states, Louisiana has a different state-level electoral system in which no primaries take place. All interested candidates, regardless of party, will participate in the first round. Only if neither of them obtains a majority, a second round is organized between the two candidates with the most votes. It is therefore possible that a second round consists of two candidates from the same party.
