Balasore or Baleswara is a city in the state of Odisha, about 194 kilometres (121 mi) north of the state capital Bhubaneswar and 300 kilometres (186 mi) from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the largest town of northern Odisha and the administrative headquarters of Balasore district. It is best known for Chandipur beach. It is also called ‘missile city’. The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme’s Integrated Test Range is located 18 km south of Balasore.

According to 2011 Indian Census, Balasore (municipality + overgrowth) had a total population of 144,373, of which 73,721 were males and 70,652 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 14,773. The total number of literates in Balasore was 113,418, which constituted 78.6% of the population with male literacy of 81.7% and female literacy of 75.3%. 

The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Balasore was 87.5%, of which male literacy rate was 91.0% and female literacy rate was 83.8%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 15,812 and 9,291 respectively. Balasore had 30460 households in 2011.

Balasore is the main city in the District of Balasore. The district has four major revenue sources – industries, agriculture, fishing and tourism with its base in Chandipur. Many small and large scale industries are located both within the city limits as well as the outskirts. Balasore Alloys Limited, Emami Paper Mills, Oriplast, and Birla Tyres are some of the major industries based in Balasore.

It is one of the richest cities of Odisha. The main markets of Balasore are Nua Bazara, Motiganj, FM Square, Vivekananda Marga, Station Square, ITI Chhaka, Kachehri Road, Town Hall and Nua Shahi.