Mississippi Facts -- National Geographic

Fast Facts

Population:: 2,881,281
Capital:: Jackson; 180,881
Area:: 48,430 square miles (125,434 square kilometers)
Per Capita Income:: U.S. $22,370
Date Statehood Achieved:: December 10, 1817

Mississippi ranks first in world production of catfish and third among states in cotton. It leads in the manufacturing of upholstered furniture.

Between 1950 and 1980 soaring demand for soybeans prompted reclamation of more than four-fifths of the almost five million acres of wetlands. Federal laws have now made it less profitable to convert waterfowl habitat to cropland, but agriculture is still the state's leading industry. A heritage corridor along the Mississippi River includes antebellum houses and Civil War battlefields.

ECONOMY

Industry: Petroleum products, health services, electronic equipment, transportation, banking, forest products, communications
Agriculture: Poultry, eggs, cotton, catfish, soybeans, cattle, rice, dairy products

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