Pondicherry is the Capital of this Union Territory. It is on the east coast about 162 kms south of Chennai ( Madras ) located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.

The Union Territory of Pondicherry comprises of 4 coastal regions viz- Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam .

Pondicherry and Karaikal are situated on the East Coasts in Tamil Nadu, Yanam on the East Coast in Andra Pradesh and Mahe on the West Coast in Kerala.

Pondicherry region is located on the coromandal coast between 11 degree 46' and 12 degree 30' of north latitude and between 79 degree 36' and 79 degree 52' of east longitude. Its boundary on the east is the Bay of Bengal and on the other 3 sides is Cuddalore & Villupuram districts of Tamil Nadu State.

This is not a contiguous area but interspersed with some parts of Cuddalore and Villupuram districts of Tamil Nadu state. It presents a picture of scattered parts enclosed within Cuddalore and Villupuram districts.

The lay out of Pondicherry region described above which is located within Tamil Nadu presents a peculiar picture of territorial jurisdiction, perhaps the only one of its kind in the world. The historical reasons, which prompted the French and the British to limit their territories in the intermingling manner, are not known.

Languages and Religion:

Main languages spoken in the region are Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. English and French are other languages, which are spoken by a considerable number of people.

Majorities of the people are Hindus. There are quite a number of Christians and Muslims, whereas very few Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists.