Demographics of Karnataka

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Distribution of population in Karnataka
Distribution of population in Karnataka

Karnataka having a total population of 52,850,562 is one of the major states in South India. Kannada is the official language of Karnataka[1] and is spoken as a native language by about 64.75% of the people. Other linguistic minorities in the state as of 1991 are Urdu (9.72%), Telugu (8.34%), Marathi (3.95%), Tamil (3.82%), Malayalam (1.69%), Tulu (3.38%), Konkani (1.78%) and Hindi (1.87%).[2] Karnataka is also in the fore-front of population control measures with the world's first two birth control clinics being setup in the year 1930 in the Mandya district.[3]

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[edit] Population

According to the 2001 census of India, the total population of Karnataka is 52,850,562. Of this, 26,898,918 (50.89%) are male and 25,951,644 (49.11%) are female. There is a decadal increase in population of 17.25% from 1991 to 2001. Population density is 275.6 per km², the sex ratio is 964 females to 1000 males and 33.98% of the people in Karnataka live in urban areas. The literacy rate is 66.6% with 76% of males and 57% of females being literate.[4] As per the 2001 census, the six largest cities of Karnataka in order of their population are Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysore, Gulbarga, Belgaum and Mangalore.[5] Bangalore is the only city with a population of more than 1 million. The state has one of the largest populations of Anglo-Indians in India.

Bangalore Urban, Belgaum and Gulbarga are the most populous districts, each of them having a population of more than three million. Gadag, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu districts have a population of less than a million.

83% of the population are Hindu, 11% are Muslim, 4% are Christian, 0.78% are Jains, 0.73% are Buddhist, 0.03% are Sikhs, and remaining belong to other religions.[6]

Karnataka is also the location of some of tribes like, Nayaka, Soliga, and Yerava. The joint family system is prevalent in the rural areas of Karnataka and there are extreme cases like the Narasinganavars who reside in the Dharwad district and are recognised as one of the largest undivided families in the world.

[edit] Districts

Population of districts of Karnataka as per 2001 census
District Population Decadal %age growth 1991 -> 2001
Bangalore Urban 6,537,124 34.80
Bangalore Rural 1,881,514 12.21
Chitradurga 1,517,896 15.05
Davanagere 1,790,952 14.78
Kolar 2,536,069 13.83
Shimoga 1,642,545 12.90
Tumkur 2,584,711 11.87
Bagalkot 1,651,892 18.84
Belgaum 4,214,505 17.40
Bijapur 1,806,918 17.63
Dharwad 1,604,253 16.65
Gadag 971,835 13.14
Haveri 1,439,116 13.29
Uttara Kannada 1,353,644 10.90
Bellary 2,027,140 22.30
Bidar 1,502,373 19.56
Gulbarga 3,130,922 21.02
Koppal 1,196,089 24.57
Raichur 1,669,762 21.93
Chamarajanagar 965,462 9.16
Chikmagalur 1,140,905 11.98
Dakshina Kannada 1,897,730 14.51
Hassan 1,721,669 9.66
Kodagu 548,561 11.64
Mandya 1,763,705 7.14
Mysore 2,641,027 15.04
Udupi 1,112,243 6.88

[edit] Health care

The princely state of Mysore was the first state in India to take up a vaccination drive against small pox. World's first two birth control clinics were set up in Karnataka in the district of Mandya.[3] Even though health care in Karnataka's private sector is among world's best[7], state as a whole has not been fully successful in providing effective primary health care. Apart from capital Bangalore and coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada other parts of the state especially northern districts have not received sufficient attention by government and private sectors.[3] However Karnataka has established a modicum of public health services having a better record of health care and child care compared to other states of India.[8] The state has a birth rate of 2.2%, death rate of 0.72%, an infant mortality rate of 5.5%, a maternal mortality rate of 0.195% and 2.2 being total fertility rate.[3] As of 2004 state's Health and Family Welfare Services had 8,143 sub-centres (one for 5,000 people), 581 Primary Health Units (PHUs), 1,679 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), 19 mobile units, 7,304 maternity annexes, 17 urban PHCs and 110 Community Health Centres. While the doctor-population ratio is 1:10,260, the bed to population ratio is 1:1,220.[3] There were 87 Urban Family Welfare Centres, 124 Urban Health Centres and 24 district level and 149 taluk level hospitals. Six government hospitals in Karnataka have won ISO-9002 certification. During 2004-05 Karnataka slipped from the sixth place to the seventh in the Human Development Index. During fiscal year 2004-05, only 0.7% of total GSDP was allocated to health sector.[3]

Karnataka is one of the states of India most seriously affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and stands fifth on the number of reported AIDS cases in the country. The first case of AIDS was detected in the state in 1988. Of the 49 high prevalence HIV/AIDS districts in India, 10 are in Karnataka.[9] This has caused Karnataka to become the first state in India to bring in legislation making pre-marital HIV tests compulsory.[10] Karnataka is also home to Handigodu Syndrome, a rare and painful osteoarthritic disorder endemic to the Malnad region of the state.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ The Karnataka Official Language Act. Official website of Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Legislation. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
  2. ^ Urdu in Karnataka. A. R. Fatihi, PhD on Language in India. Central Institute of Indian Languages. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Envisaging a healthy growth. Online Webpage of the Frontline. The Hindu. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  4. ^ Census of India. Online Webpage of Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  5. ^ Population of Corporation/CMC/TMC/TP, Population 2001 Census. Online Webpage of the Directorate of Municipal Administration. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  6. ^ India (Religion), Census of 2001. Online Webpage of Census of India. Registrar General, Government of India. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
  7. ^ Karnataka bets big on healthcare tourism. Online webpage of the Hindu Business Line, dated 2004-11-23. 2004, The Hindu. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  8. ^ Ticking child healthcare time bomb. Online Webpage of the Education World. Education World. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  9. ^ HIV/AIDS in India - The hard hit states. Population foundation of India. Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  10. ^ Karnataka move: Pre-marital HIV tests mandatory. Online webpage of TribuneIndia. The Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.