Gunma群馬県
Gunma-ken, ぐんまけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Gunma is landlocked and mountainous. The hot spring towns of Kusatsu and Ikaho are here.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 群馬県
- Reading
- Gunma-ken / ぐんまけん
- Region
- Kantō 関東
- Capital
- Maebashi 前橋市
- Largest municipality
- Takasaki City 高崎市, 372,973 people, more than the capital
- Population
- 1,939,110 (2020 census)
- Area
- 6,362 km²
- Density
- 305 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 35: 12 cities, 15 towns, and 8 villages
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 7
- Codes
- JIS 10, ISO 3166-2 JP-10
- Website
- www.pref.gunma.jp
- Tree
- black pine クロマツ
- Flower
- Japanese azalea レンゲツツジ
- Bird
- copper pheasant ヤマドリ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takasaki City高崎市 | 372,973 | 459.16 | 19.2% |
| Maebashi City前橋市 | 332,149 | 311.59 | 17.1% |
| Ota City太田市 | 223,014 | 175.54 | 11.5% |
| Isesaki City伊勢崎市 | 211,850 | 139.44 | 10.9% |
| Kiryu City桐生市 | 106,445 | 274.45 | 5.5% |
| Tatebayashi City館林市 | 75,309 | 60.97 | 3.9% |
| Shibukawa City渋川市 | 74,581 | 240.27 | 3.8% |
| Fujioka City藤岡市 | 63,261 | 180.29 | 3.3% |
| Annaka City安中市 | 54,907 | 276.31 | 2.8% |
| Midori Cityみどり市 | 49,648 | 208.42 | 2.6% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 25 are listed below.
How an address here begins
群馬県前橋市…
Gunma-ken, Maebashi-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Gunma市区町村
35 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Gunma
- What is the capital of Gunma?
- Maebashi (前橋市). The prefectural office is there. It is not the largest municipality: Takasaki City (高崎市) had more people at the 2020 census, 372,973.
- What does 県 mean in 群馬県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Gunma?
- 35: 12 cities, 15 towns, and 8 villages. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into seven districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Gunma?
- 1,939,110 at the 2020 census, on 6,362 km², which is 305 people per km². Gunma is the 18th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 21st largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Gunma?
- Five prefectures: Fukushima (福島県), Tochigi (栃木県), Saitama (埼玉県), Niigata (新潟県), and Nagano (長野県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Gunma in?
- Kantō (関東). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Gunma elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Gunma written in Japanese?
- 群馬県, read Gunma-ken and written ぐんまけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Gunma begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 群馬県前橋市… (Gunma-ken, Maebashi-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Gunma?
- Takasaki City (高崎市), with 372,973 people at the 2020 census. The capital, Maebashi, is not the largest. The three most populous municipalities are Takasaki City (高崎市, 372,973), Maebashi City (前橋市, 332,149), and Ota City (太田市, 223,014).
- What are the symbols of Gunma?
- The prefectural tree is the black pine (クロマツ), the flower the Japanese azalea (レンゲツツジ), and the bird the copper pheasant (ヤマドリ). Gunma chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.