Arizona – General information

Arizona General Information

Area: 294,333 km².

Population: around 7.6 to 7.7 million (as of 2025/26) – significantly more than the previously mentioned 5.86 million (as of 2005); an increase of around 30% within two decades, which continues to make Arizona one of the fastest-growing US states.

The ethnic composition has changed noticeably since 2005: the proportion of Latinos and Hispanics is now over 30% (significantly higher than in previous decades), the proportion of the white, non-Hispanic population is now around 53–55% (instead of the previously mentioned around 80%). The Navajo and Hopi continue to be among the most important indigenous population groups; a total of over 300,000 members of indigenous peoples live in Arizona today (significantly more than the previously mentioned 200,000), spread over 27 state-recognized tribes – around a quarter of Arizona’s land area is Indian reservations, including the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation in the entire USA.

Population density: around 26 inhabitants per km² (up from the previously mentioned 20).

Capital: Phoenix.

Inhabitants of Phoenix: The core city today has around 1.6 to 1.7 million inhabitants (instead of the previously mentioned 1.43 million in 2005), the entire metropolitan area (Metro Phoenix) today has just under 5 million people – making Phoenix the fifth largest city in the USA today.

Geography: The landscape of Arizona is known from numerous films and is mainly characterized by barren plateaus, mountains, bizarre rock formations and wide desert plains. The three most famous national parks are the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. In the Grand Canyon, the oldest exposed rock layers on earth are visible, dating back up to 2 billion years. Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is a green oasis in the middle of a sand and mountain desert.

Local time: CET − 8. Arizona does not participate in any daylight saving time changes (with the exception of the Navajo Nation, which adopts daylight saving time). The time difference with Central Europe is therefore −8 hours in winter and −9 hours in summer.

General: Arizona is a state in the southwestern United States, bordered by Utah to the north, New Mexico to the east, Sonora and Baja California to the south, and California and Nevada to the south. A large part of the western border is formed by the Colorado River.

Arizona became the 48th state to join the USA on February 14, 1912. The economy has developed rapidly since the 1950s, making Arizona an important center of the so-called Sun Belt; today, in addition to tourism and agriculture, high-tech industry and semiconductor manufacturing (including large new chip factories in the Phoenix area) are increasingly playing a growing economic role.

The name of the state is probably derived from the word “Arizonac”, which means “place of the small spring”.

The most important cities continue to be the state capital Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Tempe and Scottsdale as well as the suburbs in the greater Phoenix area, which have grown strongly in recent years (including Chandler, Gilbert, Peoria).

Administration and politics: Arizona is governed by the Constitution of 1912. The executive branch is headed by the governor, elected by the people for a four-year term (there is no lieutenant governor in Arizona). Legislation is legislated by the Senate and House of Representatives, both elected for a two-year term.

Current governor: Katie Hobbs (Democratic Party), in office since January 2023 – Arizona’s first Democratic governor since 2009 and the fifth woman to hold this office in the state’s history. Hobbs won the 2022 election by the narrowest of margins against Republican candidate Kari Lake and is running for re-election in 2026, with Arizona being considered a politically hard-fought “swing state”.

Arizona – Entry and Visa

German, Austrian and Swiss nationals can enter the USA for tourist and business stays of up to 90 days under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) without a classic visa. The prerequisite is prior online registration via the electronic entry system ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), which should be applied for at least 72 hours before departure – preferably much earlier – via the official website esta.cbp.dhs.gov. The fee is 21 US dollars; an approved ESTA is usually valid for two years or until the expiry of the passport and entitles you to multiple entries.

The prerequisite is a biometric, machine-readable passport and the absence of certain exclusion criteria (including relevant criminal records or previous travel to or dual citizenship of Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan, Syria or Cuba since 2011) – in such cases, a regular tourist visa (B1/B2) at the US embassy is required instead.

The use of unofficial third-party websites that charge excessive fees for the ESTA application is not recommended – the application should only be made via the official government website. Since US entry requirements can change at short notice, it is advisable to take a look at the current information from the Federal Foreign Office and the US Embassy before each trip.

Note: All information on population figures, political offices and entry requirements is subject to change and has been researched to the best of our knowledge as of August 2026. For up-to-date, binding information on ESTA/entry, it is advisable to take a look at esta.cbp.dhs.gov as well as the travel and security advice of the Federal Foreign Office before travelling.