Hesse

State of Hesse
Land Hessen (German)
Anthem: Hessenlied
"Song of Hesse"
Interactive map of State of Hesse
Coordinates: 50°36′29″N 9°01′42″E / 50.608028°N 9.028472°E / 50.608028; 9.028472
CountryGermany
CapitalWiesbaden
Largest cityFrankfurt am Main
Government
 • BodyLandtag of Hesse
 • Minister-PresidentBoris Rhein (CDU)
 • Governing partiesCDU / SPD
 • Bundesrat votes5 (of 69)
 • Bundestag seats45 (of 630) (as of 2025)
Area
 • Total
21,115.62 km2 (8,152.79 sq mi)
Population
 (2023-12-31)
 • Total
6,420,729
 • Density304.0749/km2 (787.5502/sq mi)
DemonymHessian
GDP
 • Total€368.298 billion (2024)
 • Per capita€57,288 (2024)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeDE-HE
NUTS RegionDE7
HDI (2022)0.954
very high · 5th of 16
Websitewww.hessen.de

Hesse or Hessen (German: Hessen [ˈhɛsn̩] ), officially the State of Hesse (German: Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Darmstadt and Kassel. With an area of 21,114.73 square kilometers and a population of over six million, it ranks seventh and fifth, respectively, among the sixteen German states. Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany's second-largest metropolitan area (after Rhine-Ruhr), is mainly located in Hesse.

As a cultural region, Hesse also includes the area known as Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) in the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate.