Arizona – General information

Area
294,333 sq km.

Population
5.863.810 (2005). Compared to 1980, the population increased by about 40 percent. About 80 percent of the inhabitants are white. The minorities include the 200,000 descendants of the pre-colonial population, the most important of which are the Navajo and Hopi. About 700,000 inhabitants are of Spanish descent.

Population density
20 per sq km.

Capital
Phoenix.

Population
1.428.510 (2005)

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

Local time
CET – 8. No daylight saving time change in Arizona. The difference to Central Europe is -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, Mexico to the south, and California and Nevada to the west. A large part of the western border is formed by the Colorado River.

Arizona joined the United States on February 14, 1912 as the 48th state.

The economy has developed rapidly since 1950.

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

The most important cities are the federal capital Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Glendale, Tempe and Scottsdale.

Administration and politics
Arizona is governed by the 1912 Constitution. The governor is at the head of the administration. He is elected by the people for a four-year term of office. Legislation lies with the parliament, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both houses are elected for a two-year term.