Population of India

Important details about the Population of India are given on this page. Every India will find this information about population of India as useful and necessary. If you are preparing for any exam, this article will help you to answer the general knowledge questions about India's population and related data. Even for a common Indian, this page will be very useful as it will help you to know your country better. All the figures are according to census of India 2011, unless otherwise specified.

Population in India

  • Acccording to census of India 2011, total population of India is 121 Crore or 1.21 billion.
  • The growth of population in India is 17.7% between 2001 and 2011. It means that decadal change in population of India from 2001 to 2011 is 17.7 percent.
  • The current population of India, i.e. population of India in 2016 is 127 Crore. This is the projected population according to govt data.

Urban and Rural Population in India

  • The total rural population in India is 83.35 Crore. The percentage of rural population in India is 68.8 percent. From these figures, you can say that India lives in Villages.
  • The total urban population of India is 37.71 Crore. The urban population makes 31.2 percent of the total population of the country.
  • The state with highest percentage of rural population is Himachal Pradesh, where rural population comprises of almost 90 percent of the total population of state. If we look at the absolute numbers, then Uttrar Pradesh is the state having highest rural population.
  • The state with lowest percentage of rural population is Goa, where rural population is almost 38 percent of the total population of the state. If we look at the absolute numbers, then Sikkim is the state having lowest rural population.

Literacy Rate in India

  • The literacy rate in India is 73.0 %. The female literacy rate is 64.6 percent, which is significantly lower than the male literacy rate figure of 80.9 percent.
  • The state with highest literacy rate is Kerala, where the literacy rate is 93.91%.
  • The state of India with lowest literacy rate is Bihar, having literacy rate of 63.82%.

Sex Ratio in India

  • The term sex ratio means the number of females per 1000 males. Sex ratio in India is only 943.
  • The child sex ratio in India i.e. the sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 years is only 919. The low sex ratio is a major concern for the government and is a threat for the social structure.
  • Haryana, a progressive state in many fields, is the state having lowest sex ratio. The sex ratio in Haryana is only 879.
  • Kerala, having sex ratio of 1084, is the state with highest sex ratio. It is the only state in India where number of girls is more than number of boys.

Largest State by Population & Area

  • Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the largest state in India by population, with a total population of almost 20 crore.
  • If we look at the population density, then Bihar is the most densely populated state in the country. It has a population density of 1102 per sq. km. which is much higher than the country's population density of 382 per square kilometer.
  • The largest state in India by area is Rajasthan, but its ranked at number 7 in terms of population. This is because a large part of this state is covered by desert and hence population density is low.

Smallest State by Population & Area

  • The smallest state of India by population is Sikkim, where total population is only 6.08 lakh. Note that this is not the smallest state by Area.
  • By area, the smallest state in India is Goa. The total geographical area of Goa is 3702 sq km. It is almost 100 times smaller than the largest state Rajasthan.

Religion Wise Population of India

  • India is a Hindu majority nation. Hindu religion is followed by almost 96 crore people, which is 79.80% of the total population of country.
  • The main religions in India and percentage of their followers is given in the below table:
    ReligionPopulation (Crores)Percentage
    Total121100.00%
    Hindu96.6379.80%
    Muslim17.2214.23%
    Christian2.782.30%
    Sikh2.081.72%
    Buddhist0.840.70%
    Jain0.450.37%
    Others0.790.66%
  • Jammu & Kashmir is the only state where Muslims have a majority.
  • In Punjab, majority of people belong to Sikh faith. It is the only state where Sikhs are in majority.

Largest City In India

  • Mumbai, often called as financial capital or financial hub of India, is the most populated city in India. The total population of Mumbai is 1.24 crore.
  • After Mumbai, the only other city having a population above 1 crore is Delhi where total population is 1.10 crore.