India is the most populous country in the world after China and it is predicted it may surpass China in near future. India comprises 28 states and 8 union territories. As of 2019, the estimated population of India is 1.3 billion and our country occupies 2.4% of the world’s area and it is home to 17.5% of the world’s population. The first population census was conducted by the British in 1872 and since India’s independence in 1947, the census has been conducted every 10 years. The latest population figure based on the 2011 census of India, the population of the country is 1,210,193, 422. Based on the data, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has the fastest growth rate by 55.1% followed by Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland recorded the lowest growth rate of -0.5 %. Around 72.2% of the total population of India resides in rural areas. The forecast changes in the size of the population focus on four main factors: fertility rates, mortality rates, and migration. Based on net migrants, Maharashtra had the most number of immigration with 2.3 million followed by other states. Here are given the list of top 10 largest states in India by population as per data census 2011.
Table of Contents
1. Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh stands 1st position among top states in India by population and the state has a population of 199,812,341. The state in northern India has roughly 200 million inhabitants and it is the most populous state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. The state contributes 16.16% of India’s population and the population density is 828 per square km making it the most densely populated state in the country. The sex ratio as per the 2011 census was 908 women to 1000 men. The state has 59 million people below the poverty line and as per the census, UP has the highest number of both Hindus and Muslims. As per studies, the main reason behind the high population remains large fertile plains, co-existence of religion, plain topography, and less knowledge about family planning techniques. Based on religion, the population of Hindus was 79.73%, Muslim 19.26%, Sikhs 0.32%, Christian 0.18%, Jains 0.11%, Buddhist 0.10%, and others 0.30%.
2. Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India and as per the 2011 national census, the second most populous state has a population of 112,374,333. The state holds 55% rural population and 45% urban. The total population in 2011 was 15.99% while previously it was 22.57%. The main religion followed by Maharashtrians is Hinduism around 79.8% of the total population while Muslims constitute 11.5%. Most of the population of Maharashtra are Marathas and Kunbis. A few percent of the population in the state remains Sikh, Christians, and Jains. The state contributes 9.28% to the Indian population. The literacy rate increased to 83.2% of which male literacy stood at 89.82% and female literacy at 75.48%. More than four-fifths of the population speak the official language Marathi. The main reason for the high growth rate is due to the long history of migration. Mumbai with the growth of capitalism brought economic and social changes.
3. Bihar
Bihar is the third most populous state of India with a population of 104,099,452. It is India’s densely populated state with 1,106 persons per sq km. The male and female population are 54,278,157 and 49,821,295 female respectively. The population of Bihar is classified based on religion, social caste and lineage, and language. Almost 58% of Bihar’s population was below 25 years of age which remains the highest in India. According to the census, 82.7% of Bihar’s population follows Hinduism while 16.9% follow Islam. The literacy rate of people in Bihar is 63.82%. Only 11.3% of the population lives in urban areas.
4. West Bengal
West Bengal is the fourth most populous state with more than 91 million inhabitants. The state has a total population of 91,347,736 contributing 7.8% of India’s population. The majority of the population in West Bengal speaks Bengali. The Darjeeling district has a large Nepali immigration population making Nepali a main spoken language there. West Bengal is a home for tribal Adivasis and there is a small number of ethnic minorities in the state capital. The Hindu population of West Bengal comprises 64,385,546 while the Muslim population forms 24,654,825 as per the 2011 census. The literacy rate is 77.08% and the life expectancy in the state was 70.2 years. The scheduled caste and tribes form 28.6% and 5.8% of the population respectively in rural areas and 19.9 and 1.5% in urban areas. The partition of Bengal is one of the main reasons for the rise in population and the other reason remains heavy rainfall and fertile land. It is economically safe to stay in the state.
5. Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh is the fifth populous state and the Adivasi population comprises 15.34 million constituting 21.1% of the total population. The population of the state consists of scheduled tribes and castes and main tribal groups. In many districts, 30 to 50% of the population is of tribes. About 90.9% of the MP residents follow Hinduism while others are Muslims 6.6%, Jain 0.8%, Buddhists 0.3%, Christians 0.3%and Sikhs 0.2%. The official language of the state is Hindi and the villagers speak few other languages like Awadhi, Bagheli, and Bundeli. Due to the immigration of individuals from different states for work, there has been an expansion in the relocation numbers too in the state.
6. Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu which lies in the southernmost part of India is the 6th most populous state and has a total population of 72,147,030. About 48.4% of the state population lives in urban areas and the state has registered a low fertility rate in India. The sex ratio of the state is 995 with males and females, 36137975 and 36009055 respectively. The literates in the state comprise 51,837507 making the literacy rate 80.33%. As per the religious census, Tamil Nadu has 87.6% Hindus, 6.1% Christians, 5.9% Muslims, 0.1% Jains, and 0.3% other religions. Tamil is the state official language and apart from that, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam are also spoken by a small number of peoples. English remains their secondary language. The main reason behind the high population is urbanization, as it is one of the most developed states in India. The state has a high fertility rate and a low death rate.
7. Rajasthan
Rajasthan is the seventh populous state with a total population of 68,548,437. As per the 2011 census in India, Rajasthan has a literacy rate of 67.06%. The native Rajasthani people make the majority of the state’s population. The state is also populated by Sindhis who came and settled there from Sindh Province during India Pakistan separation in 1947. As for religion, Rajasthan’s residents are mainly Hindus who hold 88.49% of the population. Muslims make 9.07%, Sikhs 1.27%, and Jains 0.91% of the population. The literacy rate of the state is below 74.04%. According to 2007, 12.5% of the state are Brahmins. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the state and Rajasthani is also one main language spoken there. Few reasons for the high population remain early marriage, increased fertility rate, and low knowledge about family planning.
8. Karnataka
According to the 2011 census of India, the total population of Karnataka was 61,095297 of which 50.7% were male and 49.3% female. Around 15.60% increase in population has happened in 2001. The literacy rate was 75.36% with males and females 82.47% and 68.08% respectively. Around 84% of population was Hindu, 12.92% was Muslim, 1.87% Christian, 0.72% Jain, 0.16% Buddhist, 0.05% Sikh and 0.02% other religion. Kannada is the official language of the state and the native language is spoken by 66.54% of people as of 2011. The state has a birth rate of 2.2%, the death rate of 0.7%, infant mortality rate 5.5%, and a maternal mortality rate of 0.2%. The latest census shows the population density in Bangalore has risen 47% in the past few decades due to job opportunities and economic growth.
9. Gujarat
The population of Gujarat was 60,383,628 as per 2011 census data. The population density is 308km which remains lower than any other Indian state. The state Gujarat has a sex ratio of 918 girls for every 1000 boys. The majority of the population speaks Gujarati and a major part of the population resides in urban cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, and Vadodara. The scheduled caste and tribe constitute one-fifth of the states population. The religious part of the state population comprises 88.6% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and others. Hinduism is the major religion followed by the people in the state. The failure of the family welfare program is the main reason for the population increase in the state.
10. Andhra Pradesh
The state Andhra Pradesh has a population of 49,386,799 and the total population constitutes 70.4% of the rural population. The overall population of the state comprises 17.1% of scheduled caste and 5.3% scheduled tribe. Telugu is the official language of the state. The greater majority of people practice Hinduism in the state and a smaller segment of the population follows Islam or Christianity.