Alabama is located in the southeastern United States, bordering Mississippi to the west, Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, and Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. It is the 30th largest state in size and the 24th most populated state. It has one of the nation's longest navigable inland waterways, at nearly 1,500 miles. Its name comes from the Alabama Native American tribe, whose people were indigenous to the area. It has been nicknamed the "Yellowhammer State," after the state bird, and has also been known as the "Heart of Dixie" and the "Cotton State," due to the large amounts of cotton produced there historically as well as today. The most populated city is Birmingham and the largest by land area is Huntsville. Montgomery is the state capital and the third most populated city in the state. Mobile is the oldest city and the second most populated city, founded by French colonists in 1702.

Alabama's economy is based on management, automotive, finance, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology. Agriculture still contributes to the economy, but it now has a more diversified economy. Agricultural outputs include poultry, eggs, cattle, fish, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Though it has been known as the "Cotton State," it currently ranks between eighth and tenth in cotton productions in the U.S. Top five employers in the state are Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army base, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, the State of Alabama, and Mobile County Public School System. There are more than 60 higher education institutions in Alabama, with the largest single campus being University of Alabama located in Tuscaloosa, with University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama at Huntsville also being quite large. Others of note are Troy University, with four campuses, Auburn University, and University of North Alabama and Spring Hill College, the oldest institutions in the state.

Tourism is also important to the economy, with an estimated 20 million tourists visiting the state each year. Some of the most popular areas include U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, the beaches along the Gulf, and Montgomery. Alabama also has more than 60 protected areas, which includes 14 national wildlife refuges, four national forests, four national historic areas and 43 state parks, forests, wildlife management areas, nurseries, a fish hatchery, and a wildlife refuge. Most notable are the national forests, Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee and William B. Bankhead, Oak Mountain State Park, Cheaha State Park, Lake Guntersville State Park, Cathedral Caverns State Park, DeSoto State Park, Monte Sano State Park, Joe Wheeler State Park, Rickwood Caverns State Park, Lake Lurleen State Park, Wind Creek State Park, Chewacla State Park, Lakepoint State Park, on the banks of Lake Eufaula, Blue Springs State Park and Gulf State Park. College football is also quite popular in Alabama and features the fifth largest stadium in the country at the University of Alabama. Some other sports-related attractions include the Talladega Speedway, which hosts a series of NASCAR events, Barber Motorsports Park, which has hosted IndyCar races, and the many championship golf courses in the state, where several professional golf tournaments have been hosted. Some other attractions in the region include Birmingham Zoo, USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, McWane Science Center, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Noccalula Falls, Bellingrath Gardens and Home, and Alabama's Gulf Coast beaches.