With a population of about 1.7 million, Visakhapatnam or Vizag, is the 17th most populous city of India, the largest city of Andhra Pradesh and the states financial capital. Located in the mountain ranges of the Eastern Ghats and on the Coast of Bay of Bengal, the city is also favored by tourists because of its beaches, Buddhist sites and caves. Majority of the population speaks Telugu. Vizag serves as the administrative headquarters of both the Visakhapatnam district and of the Eastern Naval Command. In the past, the city was part of the Kalinga kingdom, and then ruled by the Vengis, Pallavas, Eastern Ganga, Cholas, Vijayanagar Kingdom, Chalukyas, Mughals, Nizams before being ceded to the French in the late 18th century and then to the British in 1804. According to the 2011 census, the total population of the district is 4.2 million, the literacy rate is 67 percent and 44 percent are in the working age. Out of this 47 percent work in the agriculture sector, 3 percent in the household industry and 50 percent in services and industry. Export of Seafood, Pharmaceuticals, Information Technology and Thermal Power Plants are the biggest employers. Indias oldest shipyard and the only natural / inland harbor on the eastern coast that was well protected from the threat of cyclones was inaugurated at Vizag in 1933.
