Kerala, officially Keralam, is a state on the Malabar Coast of southern India. It was formed on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, which unified the country's Malayalam-speaking regions into a single state. Covering 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is primarily a strip of coastal plains sandwiched by the Western Ghats and the Laccadive Sea, bound by Karnataka to the northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east, and the Lakshadweep islands in the western vicinity. With 33 million inhabitants according to the 2011 census, Kerala is the 13th-most populous state in India. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital city while the Kochi metropolitan area is the state's most populated region. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and, alongside English, serves as an official language of the state.