Assam pronunciation is a north eastern state of India with its capital at Dispur, a suburb of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys and the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills.
Assam is known for Assam tea, petroleum resources, Assam silk and for its rich biodiversity. It has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction in Kaziranga, the tiger in Manas and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. It is increasingly becoming a popular destination for wild-life tourism and notably Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites.[2] Assam was also known for its Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted now. A land of high rainfall, Assam is endowed with lush greenery and the mighty river Brahmaputra, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a unique hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.

Economy
Macro-economic trend
Economy of Assam today represents a unique juxtaposition of backwardness amidst plenty. Growth rate of Assam’s income has not kept pace with that of India’s during the Post-British Era; differences increased rapidly since 1970s. While the Indian economy grew at 6 percent per annum over the period of 1981 to 2000, the same of Assam’s grew only by 3.3 percent. In the Sixth Plan period Assam experienced a negative growth rate of 3.78 percent against a growth rate of 6 percent of India’s. In the post-liberalised era (after 1991), the gaps between growth rates of Assam’s and India’s economy widened further.

In the current decade, according to recent analysis, Assam’s economy is showing signs of improvement. In the year 2001-2002, the economy grew in 1993-94 constant prices at 4.5 percent, falling to 3.4 percent in the next financial year. During 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, in the same constant prices, the economy grew more satisfactorily at 5.5 and 5.3 percent respectively. The advanced estimates placed the growth rate for the year 2005-2006 at above 6 percent.

In the 1950s, soon after the independence, per capita income in Assam was little higher than that in India; it is much lower today. In the year 2000-2001, per capita income in Assam was INR 6,157 at constant prices (1993-94) and INR 10,198 at current prices, which is almost 40 percent lower than that in India. According to the recent estimates, per capita income in Assam at 1993-94 constant prices has reached INR 6520 in 2003-2004 and INR 6756 in 2004-2005, which is still much lower than the same of India.

This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Assam at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Year Gross State Domestic Product
1980 25,160
1985 56,730
1990 106,210
1995 194,110
2000 314,760

Assam's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $13 billion in current prices.

Sectoral analysis again exhibits a dismal picture. The average annual growth rate of agriculture, which was only 2.6 percent per annum over 1980s has unfortunately fallen to 1.6 percent in the 1990s. Manufacturing sector has shown some improvement in the 1990s with a growth rate of 3.4 percent per annum than 2.4 percent in the 1980s. Since past five decades, the tertiary sector has registered the highest growth rates than the primary and secondary sectors, which even has slowed down in the 1990s than in 1980s.

Divisions
Districts of Assam:
1. Tinsukia, 2. Dibrugarh, 3. Sibsagar, 4. Dhemaji, 5. Jorhat, 6. Lakhimpur, 7. Golaghat, 8. Sonitpur, 9. Karbi Anglong, 10. Nagaon, 11. Marigaon, 12. Darrang, 13. Kamrup Rural, 14. Nalbari, 15. Barpeta, 16. Bongaigaon, 17. Goalpara, 18. Kokrajhar, 19. Dhubri, 20. North Cachar Hills, 21. Cachar, 22. Hailakandi, 23. Karimganj, 24. Kamrup Metropolitan, 25. Baksa, 26. Chirang and 27. Udalguri.