Purvanchal

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Purvanchal
Purvanchal
Continent	Asia
Country	India
Region	Bhojpuri
State	Uttar Pradesh
Languages	Bhojpuri
Population  (2023 estimate)	62.8 million

Purvanchal (lit. 'Eastern region') is a subregion of the larger Bhojpuri region. Gorakhpur and Varanasi are important cities in this region. The Lal Bahadur Shashtri International Airport in Varanasi is the largest international airport in this region.

It primarily consists of the Bhojpuri-speaking areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

It is a proposed state in the state of Uttar Pradesh for which people of this area have been fighting for quite some time.^[when?]

Since the late 20th century, there has been a demand for a separate Purvanchal state, carved out of the state of Uttar Pradesh. The region remains one of the most underdeveloped in India in terms of human development index and economic prosperity. Due to general lack of well-developed industries and employment opportunities, the region suffers significant brain drain.