Baden-Württemberg (/ˌbɑːdən ˈvɜːrtəmbɜːrɡ/ BAH-dən VURT-əm-burg;[6] German: [ˌbaːdn̩ ˈvʏʁtəmbɛʁk] ⓘ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German federal state (Bundesland) in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants as of 2019 across a total area of nearly 35,752 km2 (13,804 sq mi), it is the third-largest German state by both area (behind Bavaria and Lower Saxony)