The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to West Bengal: West Bengal – state in eastern India and is the nation's fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants. Spread over , it is bordered by the countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata (Calcutta), one of the largest cities in India. Together with the neighbouring nation of Bangladesh, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. General reference Names Common name: West Bengal Pronunciation: Local name: Paschim Bongo Abbreviations and name codes ISO 3166-2 code: IN-WB Vehicle registration code: WB Nicknames Bengal Adjectivals West Bengal Bengali Rankings (amongst India's states) by population: 4th by area (2011 census): 14th by crime rate (2015): 17th by gross domestic product (GDP) (2014): 4th by Human Development Index (HDI): 11th by life expectancy at birth: by literacy rate (2011):76.62% Geography of West Bengal Geography of West Bengal West Bengal is: an Indian state Population of West Bengal: Area of West Bengal: 88,750 sq km Atlas of West Bengal Location of West Bengal West Bengal is situated within the following regions: Northern Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere Eurasia Asia South Asia India East India Time zone: Indian Standard Time (UTC+05:30) Environment of West Bengal Climate of West Bengal Protected areas of West Bengal Wildlife of West Bengal Natural geographic features of West Bengal Rivers of West Bengal Regions of West Bengal Ecoregions of West Bengal Administrative divisions of West Bengal Capital of West Bengal Kolkata Divisions of West Bengal Jalpaiguri division Burdwan division Presidency division Malda division Medinipur division Districts of West Bengal Districts of West Bengal Alipurduar district Bankura purba Bardhaman Paschim Bardhaman Birbhum Cooch Behar Darjeeling kalimpong East Midnapore Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Kolkata Malda Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas (Largest in terms of population and population density) Uttar Dinajpur Purulia South 24 Parganas (Largest in terms of area) Dakshin Dinajpur Jhargram West Midnapore Cities of West Bengal Municipal Corporations of West Bengal Municipalities of West Bengal Cities of West Bengal Demography of West Bengal Demographics of West Bengal Government and politics of West Bengal Politics of West Bengal Form of government: Indian state government (parliamentary system of representative democracy) Capital of West Bengal: Capital of West Bengal Elections in West Bengal (specific elections) Union government in West Bengal Rajya Sabha members from West Bengal