Andhra Pradesh is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India, is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official language. Amaravati is the state capital, while the largest city is Visakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh shares borders with Odisha to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the north, Karnataka to the southwest, Tamil Nadu to the south, Telangana to northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the east. It has the longest coastline in India (aerial distance between extreme ends) at about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi).

Archaeological evidence indicates that Andhra Pradesh has been continuously inhabited for over 247,000 years, from early archaic hominins to Neolithic settlements. The earliest reference to the Andhras appears in the Aitareya Brahmana (c. 800 BCE) of the Rigveda. Around 300 BCE, the Andhras living in the Godavari and Krishna river deltas were renowned for their formidable military strength—second only to the Maurya Empire in the subcontinent. The first major Andhra polity was the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE) which ruled over the entire Deccan Plateau and even distant areas of western and central India. They established trade relations with the Roman Empire, and their capital, Dhanyakataka, was the most prosperous city in India during the 2nd century CE. Subsequent major dynasties included the Vishnukundinas, Eastern Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagara Empire, and Qutb Shahis, followed by British rule. After gained independence, Andhra State was carved out of Madras State in 1953. In 1956, it merged with Telangana, comprising the Telugu-speaking regions of the former Hyderabad State, to form Andhra Pradesh. It reverted to its earlier form in 2014, when the new state of Telangana was bifurcated from it.

The Eastern Ghats separate the coastal plains from the peneplains. Major rivers include the Krishna, Godavari, Tungabhadra and Penna. Andhra Pradesh holds about one-third of India's limestone reserves and significant deposits of baryte and granite. Agriculture and related activities employ 62.17% of the population, with rice being the staple crop. The state contributes 30% to India's fish production and accounts for 35% of the country's seafood exports. The Sriharikota Range, located on Sriharikota island in Tirupati district, serves as India's primary satellite launch centre.

Andhra is the birthplace of the Amaravati school of art, an ancient Indian art style that influenced South Indian, Sri Lankan, and Southeast Asian art. It is also home to Kuchipudi, one of India's classical dance forms, and has produced several renowned Carnatic music composers. The state features prominent pilgrimage centres and natural attractions, including the Venkateswara temple in Tirumala and the Araku Valley. Notable products with geographical indication (GI) registration include Tirupati Laddu, Banganapalle mangoes, Kondapalli toys, Dharmavaram sarees, and Pootharekulu.

Andhras were mentioned in Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda (c. 800–500 BCE) as descendants of the sage Vishvamitra. Andhras were referred to as non-Aryans living on the fringes of Aryan settlements. The Satavahanas, the earliest kings who ruled this region were mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jateeya, and Andhrabhrtya in the Puranic literature. "Andhra" is both a tribal and a territorial name. The region inhabited by Andhras was called Andhradesa.

Excavated stone tools from Hanumanthunipadu in Prakasam district were dated to be 2.47 lakh (247,000) years old (Middle Paleolithic). This finding means that these tools were developed by archaic hominins (pre-humans) as such tools were thought to be used by modern man migrating out of Africa about 2.10 lakh (210,000) years ago. In the absence of fossil evidence, it became a riddle to understand what happened to them. The discovery of petroglyphs, pictographs, and dolmens in Chakrala Bodu, near Boyalapalli village in the Yerragondapalem mandal area of Prakasam district indicates the presence of Neolithic-age human settlements in the region.

Megasthenes reported in his Indica (c. 310 BCE) that Andhras were living in the Godavari and Krishna river deltas and were famous for their military strength which was second only to Mauryans in all of India. Archaeological evidence from places such as Bhattiprolu, Amaravathi, and Dharanikota suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan empire. After the death of Emperor Ashoka, Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE and was replaced by several smaller kingdoms in the Andhra region. One of the earliest examples of the Brahmi script, from Bhattiprolu was used on an urn containing the relics of Buddha. This is considered as the rosetta stone for decipherment of Tamil Brahmi. Kadamba script, derived from Bhattiprolu Brahmi later led to the evolution of Telugu and Kannada scripts.

The Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan Plateau from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE. It had trade relations with the Roman Empire. The Satavahanas made Dhanyakataka-Amaravathi their capital. According to historian Stanley Wolpert, it might have been the most prosperous city in India in 2nd century CE. Nagarjuna, the philosopher of Mahayana, lived in this region. Mahayana spread to China, Japan, and Korea. It became the largest Buddhist denomination in the world. Amaravati School of Art is regarded as one of the three major styles of ancient Indian art and had a great influence on art in South India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. The Andhra Ikshvakus, with their capital at Vijayapuri, succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna River valley in the latter half of the 2nd century CE. The Salankayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Andhra region between Godavari and Krishna rivers with their capital at Vengi (modern Pedavegi) around 300 CE. Telugu Cholas ruled present-day Kadapa region from the six to the thirteenth centuries intermittently. Kallamalla sasanam (law), engraved in 575 CE during the rule of Dhanamjaya, is the earliest completely Telugu inscription.