Population facts about India

General Points

1. As per provisional data of Census 2011, India's population stood at 1,21,01,93,422. 

2. India's population grew by 18,14,55,986 (17.64%) at the rate of 1.64% per year in the decade 2001­-11.

3. India accounts for a meager 2.4 per cent of the world surface area of 135.79 million sq km. Yet, it supports and sustains a whopping 17.5 per cent of the world population.

India in relation to other countries

1. The growth in India's population during the decade 2001-­11 is slightly lower than the population of Brazil, the fifth most populated country in the world. 

2. Three most populous countries of the world viz. China (1.34 billion), India (1.21 billion) and USA (308.7 million) account for 40% population of the world. 

3. The population of India is almost equal to the combined population of U.S.A., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan.

Population Growth ­ 1901 to ­2011

1. The population of India in 1901 was 23,83,96,327. It increased more than four times by 2011. 

2. The population of India in grew by just one and half times in the first half of twentieth century, while it recorded a three fold growth in the latter half of the century. 

3. The population of India saw a negative growth during 1911-­1921 when its population decreased from 25,20,93,390 to 25,13,21,213. 

4. The population of India in 1951, just four years after independence was 36,10,88,090.

Indian States and Union Territories

1. Among the Indian states, Uttar Pradesh is the most populated state with a population of 19,95,81,477 and Sikkim is the least populated state with a population of 6,07,688. 

2. The second, third, fourth and fifth ranked states are Maharashtra (11,23,72,972), Bihar (10,38,04,637), West Bengal (9,13,47,736) and Andhra Pradesh (8,46,65,533) respectively. 

3. Among the Union Territories, Delhi is the most populated UT with a population of 1,67,53,235 and Lakshdweep is the least populated UT with a population of 64,429. 

4. The second most populated UT is Puducherry with a population of 12,44,464 followed by Chandigarh with a population of 10,54,686.

Density of Population

1. The population density of India is 382 persons per square kilometre while it was 325 persons in 2001. 

2. India had a population density of just 77 persons per sq. km in 1901. 

3. The state with highest density of population is Bihar with a population of 1102 persons per square kilometre. 

4. The state with lowest density of population is Arunachal Pradesh with a population of 17 persons per square kilometre. 

5. The UT with highest density of population is Delhi with a population of 11,297 persons per square kilometre.

6. The UT with lowest density of population is Andaman and Nicobar Islands with a population of 46 persons per square kilometre.

Gender Composition

1. Out of the total population, the number of males in India is 62,37,34,248 and number of females is 58,64,69,174. 

2. The above figures give a sex ratio of 940 females per 1000 males which is an improvement of 7 points over the 2001 sex ratio of 933. 

3. India had the highest sex ratio in 1901 when it was 972 and worst in 1991 when it was 927. 

4. India has poorer sex ratio when compared to its neighbors ­ Pakistan (943), Sri Lanka (1034), Nepal (1014), Myanmar (1048) and Bangladesh (978) while it is better than China (926), Afghanistan (931) and Bhutan (897).

5. Among Indian states Kerala has the highest sex ratio of 1084 females to 1000 males while Haryana has the lowest sex ratio of 877. 

6. Among the Union Territories, Puducherry has the highest sex ratio of 1038 females to 1000 males while Daman and Diu has the lowest sex ratio of 618.

Literacy

1. For the purposes of Census, a person aged 7 and above who can both read and write with understanding in any language is treated as literate. A person who can only read but cannot write is not literate. In the censues prior to 1991, children below five years of age were necessarily treated as illiterates.

2. The overall literacy rate as per 2011 census is 74.04%. The literacy rate in 2001 was 65%.

The literacy rate is 82.14% for males and 65.46% for females. 

3. Kerala ranks first among Indian states with a literacy rate of 93.91% followed by Mizoram with a literacy rate of 91.58%. 

4. Bihar ranks last among Indian states with a literacy rate of 63.82%. Next is Rajasthan with a literacy rate of 67.06%. 

5. Four States have achieved literacy rate of above 85% which is the target set by the Planning Commission to be achieved by 2011­12. They are Kerala, Mizoram, Tripura and Goa.

6. Six Union Territories have achieved literacy rate of above 85% which is the target set by the Planning Commission to be achieved by 2011-­12. They are Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.