Perak Darul Ridzuan is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is the third largest state in Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor southward and to the west by the Strait of Malacca.

Perak means silver in the Malay language. The name comes most probably from the silvery colour of tin. In the 1890's, Perak, with the richest alluvial deposits of tin in the world was one of the jewels in the crown of the British Empire. However, some say the name comes from the "glimmer of fish in the water" that sparkled like silver. The Arab honorific of the State is Darul Ridzuan, the Land of Grace.

Its current hereditary Sultan is Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullahu-Lahu, who was the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and formerly the Lord President of Malaysia's Supreme Court. His chief minister or Menteri Besar is currently Dato' Seri Diraja Tajol Rosli bin Mohd Ghazali of Barisan Nasional, a former teacher.

Perak's population is now approximately 2 million. Once Malaysia's most populous state, the decline in the tin mining industry caused an economic slowdown from which it has yet to recover, leading to a massive drain in manpower to higher-growth states such as Penang, Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The ethnic composition of the population was estimated in 1995 to be: Malay (962,200 or 45%), Chinese (732,500 or 41%), Indian (281,700 or 14%), Other (50,000), Other Bumiputra (41,400).