Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the eighteenth most populous state and is made up of 114 counties and one independent city. Missouri's capital is Jefferson City and four largest urban areas are, in descending order, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia.[4] Missouri was originally purchased from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase and part of the Missouri Territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state in 1821.

Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation as a mixture of urban and rural culture and has long been considered a political bellwether state. It is a state with both Midwestern and Southern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a border state between the two regions. It is also a blend between the eastern and western United States as St. Louis is often called the "western-most eastern city" and Kansas City the "eastern-most western city." Missouri's geography is also highly varied, the northern part of the state lies in dissected till plains while the southern part lies in the Ozark Mountains, with the Missouri River dividing the two. The confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers is located near St. Louis.