Guntur (pronunciation) is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is located on the Eastern Coastal Plains approximately 14 miles (23 km) south-west of the state capital Amaravati. According to data from the 2011 Census of India, Guntur had a population of 743,354 in that year, making it the third-most-populous city in the state, and occupies 159.46 square kilometres (61.57 square miles) of land.The city is the heartland of the state, located in the center of Andhra Pradesh and making it a central part connecting different regions.

The city hosts many state offices and agencies, being part of the district capital and being in close proximity to the state capital Amaravati. The city is about 1100 miles south of the national capital New Delhi. It is classified as a Y-grade city as per the Seventh Central Pay Commission. It is the 24th most densely populated city in the world and 11th in India. Guntur is estimated to have current population of around 0.9 million.

Guntur serves as a major hub for the export of chilli, cotton and tobacco, and has the largest chilli-market yard in Asia. It is also a major hub for transport, education, medicine and commercial activities in the state. Ancient temples and sites near the city include Kondaveedu Fort, Amareswaraswamy temple, and Undavalli Caves, and Sri Bramarambha Malleswara Swamy Temple at Pedakakani.

In Sanskrit documents, Guntur was referred to as Garthapuri; in Telugu, "Guntlapuri" means "a place surrounded by water ponds". The settlement might have been near a pond (Telugu: "gunta"); hence "gunta uru" means "pond village". Another source refers to "kunta", a land-measuring unit, which may have transformed to "kunta uru" and later to "Guntur".

The ancient Vedic puranas, going back to the Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga, mention Sitanagaram and the Guttikonda caves near Guntur.

The region was historically known for Buddhism; the first Kalachakra ceremony was performed by Gautama Buddha. Agastyeshwara temple is one of the oldest temples in the city; according to a local legend, Agastya built it in the Treta Yuga around a swayambhu linga. Inscriptions on the side of Naga Muchalinda, a sculpture unearthed in 2018 in the compound of the temple, are in Naga Lipi, an ancient script from the third century CE. Based on this discovery, Emani Sivanagi Reddy, archaeologist and Buddhist scholar believes this region served as a Buddhist site contemporary to Nagarjunakonda.

The earliest reference to Guntur is found in inscriptions by Ammaraja I (922–929 CE), the Vengi Chalukyan king. According to an inscription in Sri Narasimha Swami temple at Ramachandra Agraharam, Tirumala Dasa Mahapatra—the local ruler of the Gajapathi king Kapileswara Gajapathi—gave donations to the temple of Mulastha Mallikarjuna Deva in 1485 CE.

Prior to the British Raj, Guntur has been ruled by the Satavahanas, Andhra Ikshvakus, Vishnukundinas, Pallavas, Vengi Chalukyas, Kakatiya kings, Reddy kings, Gajapathi kings, and Vijayanagar kings, Nizams of Hyderabad, French India, and the British East India Company. The British East India Company took over the Kondaveedu Fort in 1788 and abandoned it in the early 19th century in favour of Guntur, which was made the headquarters of a district named after it. The district was abolished in 1859 and reconstituted in 1904.

The city rapidly became a major market for agricultural produce from the surrounding countryside due to the opening of the railway link in 1890. The expansion continued post independence as well and was concentrated in what is now called New Guntur, with many urban areas such as Brodipet, Arundelpet and suburban areas like Pattabhipuram, Chandramoulinagar, Sitaramanagar, and Brindavan Gardens. In 2012, the city limits were expanded with the merger of surrounding ten villages, namely Nallapadu, Pedapalakaluru, Ankireddipalem, Adavitakkellapadu, Gorantla, Pothuru, Chowdavaram, Etukuru, Budampadu and Reddypalem.

The High Court was setup in Guntur when Andhra State was formed. It was moved to Hyderabad after the formation of Andhra Pradesh. After the bifurcation of the state a new High Court is set up in the capital region of the residual state near Guntur.

Guntur is the place of discovery of helium they discoverd this in 1869 from observations of the solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 by the French astronomer Pierre Janssen. Allen Olliver Becker's family from Guntur was among the survivors of the Titanic ship disaster.

Guntur is located at 16°17′N 80°26′E / 16.29°N 80.43°E / 16.29; 80.43. It has an average elevation of 33 metres (108 ft) and is situated on the plains. There are few hills in the surrounding suburban areas and Perecherla Reserve Forest is located in the city's north-west. Guntur lies approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh.

According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, the climate in Guntur is tropical with dry winters (Aw). The average temperature is warm-to-hot year round. The summer season, especially May and June, has the highest temperatures, which are usually followed by monsoon rains. During the winter season, running from November to February, the weather is usually dry with little-to-no rainfall. The wettest month is July. The average annual temperature is 28.5 °C (83.3 °F) and annual rainfall is about 905 millimetres (36 in). Rain storms and cyclones are common in the region during the rainy season, which starts with the monsoons in early June. Cyclones may occur any time of the year but occur most commonly between May and November.

Guntur has been ranked 10th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 2 3-10L Population cities) in India.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1981	367,699	—
1991	471,051	+28.1%
2001	514,461	+9.2%
2011	670,073	+30.2%
Source: (1981–2011)

Based on the 2011 Census of India, after a merger of nearby villages in 2012, Guntur had a population of 743,354. The 2023 estimate of the city population is 9,81,000. It is classified as a Y-grade city under the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

Based on the 2011 census data prior to the city's expansion in 2012, Telugu is the most-widely spoken language with 545,928 native speakers, followed by 109,574 Urdu speakers. A significant minority speak Hindi, Odia and Tamil. The religious demographic consists of 522,030 Hindus (77.91%), 120,974 Muslims (18.05%), 21,787 Christians (3.25%), 2,312 Jains (0.35%) and 2,605 (0.82%) did not state any religion. One of the supposedly lost tribes of Israel called Bene Ephraim has a presence in Guntur; there is a Jewish synagogue at Kothareddypalem near Chebrolu.

The city's local authority is Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC), which at over 150 years old, is one of India's oldest municipalities. It was constituted in 1886, when the city had a population of 25,000; the city was upgraded to a third-grade municipality in 1891, a first-grade municipality in 1917, a special-grade municipality in 1952, and a selection-grade municipality in 1960. In 1994, Guntur was upgraded as a municipal corporation and its first local election was held in 1995. The city is divided into 57 revenue wards. During the financial year 2018–19, the corporation had a budget of ₹1,004 crore (equivalent to ₹13 billion or US$160 million in 2023).

Guntur is one of thirty-one cities in the state to be a part of water-supply-and-sewerage-services mission known as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The city was certified as open defecation free as part of Swachh Bharat Mission. In the 2023 Swachh Survekshan rankings, Guntur was ranked fourth in India, rising from its ranking of 129th in 2018.

Guntur is the headquarters of Guntur East and Guntur West mandals in Guntur revenue division. The city is a major part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority. It is represented in the federal government by Guntur Lok Sabha constituency, and at state level by Guntur East and Guntur West assembly constituencies.

As part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, Guntur houses many state offices and agencies such as Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and the Agricultural Marketing Department, and regional office of the Crime Investigation Department. The AP State Judicial Preview offices are located at Nagarampalem. Guntur group of the National Cadet Corps is located at Syamalanagar. The city also hosts an Indian Army recruitment and training centre. The city's passport office was opened in 2018.

Guntur has several urban healthcare centres and about 200 private hospitals, including several specialty centres. The Government General Hospital (GGH) is the city's main tertiary healthcare provider.

The city's main source of drinking water is Guntur Channel, which draws water from the Krishna River. An extension of this channel is being planned to increase coverage of the city and the capital region. Summer storage tanks are located in Sangam Jagarlamudi, and Vengalayapalem reservoir is the other source of water to the city. The city's electricity is provided by Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL).

Guntur police uses surveillance and central monitoring control systems with high-resolution cameras at important traffic junctions.

The GDP of Guntur City is $ 6.826 Billion .

Guntur forms a part of the East Coast Economic Corridor. Due to its status as the district capital and part of the state capital region, Guntur houses many state offices and agencies, including the headquarters of the Agricultural Marketing Department, the Tobacco Board and the Spices Board.

India is the world's biggest exporter of chillies and much of this is grown around Guntur. The city's Agriculture Market Committee Market Yard in Guntur is the largest chilli yard in Asia; in 2023, its sales exceeded sales ₹10,000 crore (US$1.2 billion) during that year's trading season. There are also several spinning mills on the outskirts of the city.

Residents of Guntur are referred as Gunturians. Cultural events with focus on literature and poetry are regularly organised. Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram and Annamaiah Kalavedika are popular venues for cultural programs. In 2021, a new venue called Gurram Jashua Kala Pranganam was being constructed. The city observes many festivals such as Rama Navami, Hanuman Jayanthi, Maha Shivaratri, Vinayaka Chavithi, Vijaya Dasami, Deepawali, Holi, Ugadi, Eid, Krishnastami, Christmas, Karthika Pournami.

The major commercial and residential areas in the city include Arundelpet, Lakshmipuram and Brodipet. Other major areas of the city are Koretapadu, Navabharath Nagar, Pattabhipuram, Syamalanagar and Vidyanagar, Autonagar, Gorantla, Pedapalakaluru, Nallapadu, Budampadu and Chowdavaram.