India is a union of twenty-eight states and seven union territories.[1] As of 2011, with an estimated population of 1.210 billion, India is the world's second most populated country after the People's Republic of China. India occupies 2.4 percent of the world's land surface area but is home to 17.5 percent of the world's population.[2] The Indo-Gangetic plains have one of the world’s biggest stretches of fertile flat-deep alluvium and are among the most densely populated areas of the world. The eastern and western coastal regions of Deccan plateau are also densely populated regions of India. The Thar desert in western Rajasthan is one of the most densely populated deserts in the world. The northern and north-eastern states along the Himalayas contain cold arid deserts with fertile valleys. These states have less population density due to indomitable physical barriers.[3]
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The first population census in British India was conducted in 1872. Since India's independence in 1947, a census has been carried out every 10 years, starting from 1951.[4] The census in India is carried out by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and is one of the largest administrative tasks conducted by a federal government.[5]
Latest population figures are based on data from the 2011 census of India.[6] During the decade of 2001–2011, India's annual population growth rate has slowed down from 2.15 to 1.76.[6][6] Based on decennial census data, Dadra and Nagar Haveli shows the highest growth rate of 55.5 percent. It is followed by Daman and Diu (53.5 percent), Meghalaya (27.8 percent) and Arunachal Pradesh (25.9 percent). Nagaland recorded the lowest growth rate of -0.5 percent.[6]
India has 641,000 inhabited villages and 72.2 percent of the total population reside in these rural areas.[6] Of them 145,000 villages have population size of 500–999 persons; 130,000 villages have population size of 1000–1999 and 128,000 villages have population size of 200–499. There are 3,961 villages that have a population of 10,000 persons or more.[2] India's 27.8 percent urban population lives in more than 5,100 towns and over 380 urban agglomerations.[7] In the decade of 1991–2001, migration to major cities caused rapid increase in urban population.[8][9] On the basis of net migrants by last residence during the past decade, Maharashtra had most immigration with 2.3 million, followed by National Capital Territory of Delhi (1.7 million), Gujarat (0.68 million) and Haryana (0.67 million). Uttar Pradesh (−2.6 million) and Bihar (−1.7 million) topped the list for interstate emigration.[10] The five states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh account for almost half (48.89 percent) of the total Indian population.[6]
While the national avg for sex ratio shows an increase from 933 in year 2001 to 940 in year 2011,[6] the 2011 census shows a sharp decline in child sex ratio, the number of females per thousand males in a population between age group 0–6 years.[6] States such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and A & N Islands recorded an increase in child sex ratio.[6] National child sex ratio has declined from 927 in year 2001 to 914 in year 2011.[6]
The total geographical area of India is 3,287,240 square kilometres (1,269,210 sq mi)α.[2] Population density is rounded to the nearest integer.
As per census data 2011, the total population of India is: 1,210,193,422.[6]
Rank | State or union territory | Population(2011 Census) | % of Population[11] | Population (2001 Census) | % of Population (2001) | % Growth (2001–2011) | Decadal Growth (2001–2011) | Rural Pop.[12] | Urban Pop.[12] | Area km²[13] | Density (per km²) | Area mi² | Density (per mi²) | Sex ratio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | Uttar Pradesh | 199,581,477 | 16.49% | 166,197,921 | 16.16% | 20.1% | 33,383,556 | 155,111,022 | 44,470,455 | 240,928 | 985 | 93,022.8 | 2146 | 908 |
02 | Maharashtra | 112,372,972 | 9.28% | 96,878,627 | 9.42% | 16.0% | 15,494,345 | 61,545,441 | 50,827,531 | 307,713 | 365 | 118,808.7 | 815 | 946 |
03 | Bihar | 103,804,637 | 8.58% | 82,998,509 | 8.07% | 25.1% | 20,806,128 | 92,075,028 | 11,729,609 | 94,163 | 1102 | 36,356.5 | 2,855 | 916 |
04 | West Bengal | 91,347,736 | 7.55% | 80,176,197 | 7.79% | 13.9% | 11,171,539 | 62,213,676 | 29,134,060 | 88,752 | 1029 | 34,267.3 | 2,666 | 947 |
05 | Andhra Pradesh | 84,665,533 | 7.00% | 76,210,007 | 7.41% | 11.1% | 8,455,526 | 56,311,788 | 28,353,745 | 275,045 | 308 | 106,195.5 | 797 | 992 |
06 | Madhya Pradesh | 72,597,565 | 6.00% | 60,348,023 | 5.87% | 20.3% | 12,249,542 | 52,537,899 | 20,059,666 | 308,245 | 236 | 119,014.1 | 610 | 930 |
07 | Tamil Nadu | 72,138,958 | 5.96% | 62,405,679 | 6.07% | 15.6% | 9,733,279 | 37,189,229 | 34,949,729 | 130,058 | 555 | 50,215.7 | 1,437 | 995 |
08 | Rajasthan | 68,621,012 | 5.67% | 56,507,188 | 5.49% | 21.4% | 12,113,824 | 51,540,236 | 17,080,776 | 342,239 | 201 | 132,139.2 | 519 | 926 |
09 | Karnataka | 61,130,704 | 5.05% | 52,850,562 | 5.14% | 15.7% | 8,280,142 | 37,552,529 | 23,578,175 | 191,791 | 319 | 74,050.9 | 826 | 968 |
10 | Gujarat | 60,383,628 | 5% | 50,671,017 | 4.93% | 19.2% | 9,712,611 | 34,670,817 | 25,712,811 | 196,024 | 308 | 75,685.3 | 798 | 918 |
11 | Orissa | 41,947,358 | 3.47% | 36,804,660 | 3.58% | 14.0% | 5,142,698 | 34,951,234 | 6,996,124 | 155,707 | 269 | 60,118.8 | 698 | 978 |
12 | Kerala | 33,387,677 | 2.76% | 31,841,374 | 3.10% | 4.9% | 1,546,303 | 17,445,506 | 15,932,171 | 38,863 | 859 | 15,005.1 | 2,225 | 1,084 |
13 | Jharkhand | 32,966,238 | 2.72% | 26,945,829 | 2.62% | 22.3% | 6,020,409 | 25,036,946 | 7,929,292 | 79,714 | 414 | 30,777.7 | 1071 | 947 |
14 | Assam | 31,169,272 | 2.58% | 26,655,528 | 2.59% | 16.9% | 4,513,744 | 26,780,526 | 4,388,756 | 78,438 | 397 | 30,285.1 | 1029 | 954 |
15 | Punjab | 27,704,236 | 2.30% | 24,358,999 | 2.37% | 13.7% | 3,345,237 | 17,316,800 | 10,387,436 | 50,362 | 550 | 19,444.9 | 1,4253 | 893 |
16 | Haryana | 25,353,081 | 2.09% | 21,144,564 | 2.06% | 19.9% | 4,208,517 | 16,531,493 | 8,821,588 | 44,212 | 573 | 17,070.3 | 1,485 | 877 |
17 | Chhattisgarh | 25,540,196 | 2.11% | 20,833,803 | 2.03% | 22.6% | 4,706,393 | 19,603,658 | 5,936,538 | 135,191 | 189 | 52,197.5 | 489 | 991 |
18 | Jammu and Kashmir | 12,548,926 | 1.04% | 10,143,700 | 0.99% | 23.7% | 2,405,226 | 9,134,820 | 3,414,106 | 222,236 | 56 | 85,805.8 | 146 | 883 |
19 | Uttarakhand | 10,116,752 | 0.84% | 8,489,349 | 0.83% | 19.2% | 1,627,403 | 7,025,583 | 3,091,169 | 53,483 | 189 | 20,649.9 | 490 | 963 |
20 | Himachal Pradesh | 6,856,509 | 0.57% | 6,077,900 | 0.59% | 12.8% | 778,609 | 6,167,805 | 688,704 | 55,673 | 123 | 21,495.5 | 319 | 974 |
21 | Tripura | 3,671,032 | 0.30% | 3,199,203 | 0.31% | 14.7% | 471,829 | 2,710,051 | 960,981 | 10,486 | 350 | 4,048.7 | 907 | 961 |
22 | Meghalaya | 2,964,007 | 0.24% | 2,318,822 | 0.23% | 27.8% | 645,185 | 2,368,971 | 595,036 | 22,429 | 132 | 8,659.9 | 342 | 986 |
23 | Manipurβ | 2,721,756 | 0.22% | 2,293,896 | 0.22% | 18.7% | 427,860 | 1,899,624 | 822,132 | 22,327 | 122 | 8,620.5 | 316 | 987 |
24 | Nagaland | 1,980,602 | 0.16% | 1,990,036 | 0.19% | -0.5% | -9,434 | 1,406,861 | 573,741 | 16,579 | 119 | 6,401.2 | 309 | 931 |
25 | Goa | 1,457,723 | 0.12% | 1,347,668 | 0.13% | 8.2% | 110,055 | 551,414 | 906,309 | 3,702 | 394 | 1,429.4 | 1020 | 968 |
26 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1,382,611 | 0.11% | 1,097,968 | 0.11% | 25.9% | 284,643 | 1,069,165 | 313,446 | 83,743 | 17 | 32,333.4 | 43 | 920 |
27 | Mizoram | 1,091,014 | 0.09% | 888,573 | 0.09% | 22.8% | 202,441 | 529,037 | 561,997 | 21,081 | 52 | 8,139.4 | 134 | 975 |
28 | Sikkim | 607,688 | 0.05% | 540,851 | 0.05% | 12.4% | 66,837 | 455,962 | 151,726 | 7,096 | 86 | 2,739.8 | 222 | 889 |
29 | Delhi | 16,753,235 | 1.38% | 13,850,507 | 1.35% | 21% | 2,902,728 | 419,319 | 16,333,916 | 11,297 | 9,340 | 572.6 | 29,258 | 866 |
UT1 | Pondicherry | 1,244,464 | 0.10% | 974,345 | 0.09% | 27.7% | 270,119 | 394,341 | 850,123 | 479 | 2,598 | 184.9 | 6,730 | 1,038 |
UT2 | Chandigarh | 1,054,686 | 0.09% | 900,635 | 0.09% | 17.1% | 154,051 | 29,004 | 1,025,682 | 114 | 9,252 | 44.0 | 23,970 | 818 |
UT3 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 379,944 | 0.03% | 356,152 | 0.03% | 6.7% | 23,792 | 244,411 | 135,533 | 8,249 | 46 | 3,185.0 | 119 | 878 |
UT4 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 342,853 | 0.03% | 220,490 | 0.02% | 55.5% | 122,363 | 183,024 | 159,829 | 491 | 698 | 189.6 | 1,808 | 775 |
UT5 | Daman and Diu | 242,911 | 0.02% | 158,204 | 0.02% | 53.5% | 84,707 | 60,331 | 182,580 | 112 | 2,169 | 43.2 | 5,623 | 618 |
UT6 | Lakshadweep | 64,429 | 0.01% | 60,650 | 0.01% | 6.2% | 3,779 | 14,121 | 50,308 | 32 | 2,013 | 12.4 | 5,196 | 946 |
Total | India | 1,210,193,422 | 100% | 1,028,737,436 | 100% | 17.64% | 181,455,986 | 833,087,662 | 377,105,760 | 3,287,240 | 368 | 1,269,210.5 | 954 | 940 |