Henan

Henan
河南
Honan
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese河南省 (Hénán shěng)
 • AbbreviationHA / HEN / ()
Clockwise:
Location of Henan in China
CountryChina
Named after
"south of the Yellow River"
Capital (and largest city)Zhengzhou
Divisions17 prefectures, 159 counties, 2,455 townships
Government
 • TypeProvince
 • BodyHenan Provincial People's Congress
 • Party SecretaryLiu Ning
 • Congress ChairmanLiu Ning
 • GovernorWang Kai
 • CPPCC ChairmanKong Changsheng
 • National People's Congress Representation174 deputies
Area
 • Total
167,000 km2 (64,000 sq mi)
 • Rank17th
Highest elevation
(Laoyachanao)
2,413.8 m (7,919 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
99,365,519
 • Rank3rd
 • Density595/km2 (1,540/sq mi)
  • Rank7th
Demographics
 • Ethnic composition
  • Han: 98.6%
  • Others: 1.4%
 • Languages and dialects
GDP (2023)
 • TotalCN¥5,913 billion (6th)
(US$839 billion)
 • Per capitaCN¥60,073 (25th)
(US$8,525)
ISO 3166 codeCN-HA
HDI (2022)0.760 (25th) – high
Websitehenan.gov.cn
Henan
"Henan" in Chinese characters
Chinese河南
PostalHonan
Literal meaningSouth of the Yellow River
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHénán
Bopomofoㄏㄜˊ ㄋㄢˊ
Wade–GilesHo2-nan2
IPA[xɤ̌.nǎn]
other Mandarin
Xiao'erjingحېناًنْ
Wu
SuzhouneseGhôu-nóe
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHòh-nàahm
JyutpingHo4-naam4
IPA[hɔ˩.nam˩]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôHô-lâm
Abbreviation
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Bopomofoㄩˋ
Wade–Giles4
IPA[ŷ]
other Mandarin
Xiao'erjingيُو
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationYuh
JyutpingJyu6
IPA[jy˨]

Henan is a province in Central China. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, are in Henan. Henan is China's third-most populous province and the most populous among inland provinces, with a population of over 99 million as of 2020. It is the world's seventh-most populous administrative division. People from Henan sometimes underwent discrimination within China.

Henan has the 5th-largest provincial economy in China, the largest in Central China and among inland provinces, with a nominal GDP of CN¥5.88 trillion (US$926 billion) in 2021, surpassing that of Turkey (US$815 billion). If it was a country, it would be the 18th-largest economy by nominal GDP as of 2021. Henan hosts more than 150 institutions of higher education, ranking first in Central China. As of 2025, three cities in the province ranked in the top 140 cities in the world by scientific research output (Zhengzhou 58th, Kaifeng 136th and Xinxiang 138th) as tracked by the Nature Index.