The state of Mississippi is located in the southern part of the United States. Jackson is the largest city and the state capital. The symbol of the state is the magnolia tree. The state is named after the Mississippi River that flows along the western boundary. Mississippi is bounded by Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, Louisiana on the south and the Gulf of Mexico across the Mississippi River on the west. The catfish farms in Mississippi produce the majority of catfish consumed in the US.

As of 2008, the estimated population of the state of Mississippi was 2,938,618. Among the states in the US, Mississippi also has the largest proportion of black Americans which is at 37%. Until the 1930s, the majority of the population was composed mainly of African Americans. However, nearly 400,000 people left Mississippi in the 1940s during the Great Migration due to the issues of segregation and disfranchisement and to seek better opportunities in other states in the northern and western region of the country. This caused a big decline in the population of black Americans in Mississippi.

Mississippi is ranked 50th in overall health care according to the Commonwealth Fund, which means that it has the worst health care system in the union. 30% of the population has been found obese making it to have to highest rate in 2005-2008 in the country. Furthermore, it also has the highest rate of diabetes, blood pressure and adult inactivity in the United States.