ENVIS Centre, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India

Printed Date: Monday, October 14, 2024

Demography

DEMOGRAPHY OF TAMIL NADU

             Tamil Nadu is the 11th largest states in India in terms of area. The state is the seventh most populous state in the country and its main language Tamil has origins that date back to 500 BC. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu and lies on the eastern coast line of India. Tamil Nadu is famous for its wonderful temples and monuments that have been built 1000s of years ago and has places that have been marked as heritage sites by the United Nations. In a 180 degree paradigm shift, this state with a rich historical importance is also one of the fastest developing centre for technology and trade.

Demography  in Tamil Nadu

            The Population of Tamil Nadu according to the 2011 census stands at about 72 million which is not as huge as compared to some of the other big states in the country. This also reflects in the fact that the density of the state is about 555 which is on the higher side greater than the national average by about 150 points. The state has a growth rate of about 15 percent which will continue to rise due to the rise in infrastructure and development index of the state as a whole. Thus the population of the state is rising considerably given the progress in the state. The literacy rate in the state is about 80% which is a very positive stat much above the national average but something the state has worked hard on. The statistics in the Tamil Nadu Census 2011 reveal facts that can be taken into consideration by the government in a bid to further its development. The sex ratio in the state stands at 995 which positive as the number exceeds the national average.

            The capital city, Chennai is also the largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu. In total Tamil Nadu comprises 32 districts.

 

Tamil Nadu Population 2011

            As per details from Census 2011, Tamil Nadu has population of 7.21 Crores, an increase from figure of 6.24 Crore in 2001 census. Total population of Tamil Nadu as per 2011 census is 72,147,030 of which male and female are 36,137,975 and 36,009,055 respectively. In 2001, total population was 62,405,679 in which males were 31,400,909 while females were 31,004,770.

Tamil Nadu Population Growth Rate

            The total population growth in this decade was 15.61 percent while in previous decade it was 11.19 percent. The population of Tamil Nadu forms 5.96 percent of India in 2011. In 2001, the figure was 6.07 percent.

 

 Tamil Nadu Literacy Rate 2011

            Literacy rate in Tamil Nadu has seen upward trend and is 80.09 percent as per 2011 population census. Of that, male literacy stands at 86.77 percent while female literacy is at 73.14 percent. In 2001, literacy rate in Tamil Nadu stood at 73.45 percent of which male and female were 83.28 percent and 64.91 percent literate respectively.         

            In actual numbers, total literates in Tamil Nadu stands at 51,837,507 of which males were 28,040,491 and females were 23,797,016.

 


Tamil Nadu Sex Ratio

            Sex Ratio in Tamil Nadu is 996 i.e. for each 1000 male, which is above national average of 940 as per census 2011. In 2001, the sex ratio of female was 986 per 1000 males in Tamil Nadu.

Description

2011

2001

Approximate Population

7.21 Crores

6.24 Crore

Actual Population

72,147,030

62,405,679

Male

36,137,975

31,400,909

Female

36,009,055

31,004,770

Population Growth

15.61%

11.19%

Percantage of total Population

5.96%

6.07%

Sex Ratio

996

986

Child Sex Ratio

943

959

Density/km2

555

480

Density/mi2

1,437

1,243

Area km2

130,060

130,058

Area mi2

50,216

50,216

Total Child Population (0-6 Age)

7,423,832

7,235,160

Male Population (0-6 Age)

3,820,276

3,725,616

Female Population (0-6 Age)

3,603,556

3,509,544

Literacy

80.09 %

73.45 %

Male Literacy

86.77 %

83.28 %

Female Literacy

73.14 %

64.91 %

Total Literate

51,837,507

40,524,545

Male Literate

28,040,491

22,809,662

Female Literate

23,797,016

17,714,883

 

Tamil Nadu Urban Population 2011           

          Out of total population of Tamil Nadu, 48.40% people live in urban regions. The total figure of population living in urban areas is 34,917,440 of which 17,458,910 are males and while remaining 17,458,530 are females. The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 48.40 percent.

            Sex Ratio in urban regions of Tamil Nadu was 1000 females per 1000 males. For child (0-6) sex ratio the figure for urban region stood at 952 girls per 1000 boys. Total children (0-6 age) living in urban areas of Tamil Nadu were 3,512,530. Of total population in urban region, 10.06 % were children (0-6).

            Average Literacy rate in Tamil Nadu for Urban regions was 87.04 percent in which males were 91.80% literate while female literacy stood at 82.31%. Total literates in urban region of Tamil Nadu were 27,335,312.

Tamil Nadu Rural Population 2011

            Of the total population of Tamil Nadu state, around 51.60 percent live in the villages of rural areas. In actual numbers, males and females were 18,679,065 and 18,550,525 respectively. Total population of rural areas of Tamil Nadu state was 37,229,590. The population growth rate recorded for this decade (2001-2011) was 51.60%. In rural regions of Tamil Nadu state, female sex ratio per 1000 males was 993 while same for the child (0-6 age) was 936 girls per 1000 boys. In Tamil Nadu, 3,911,302 children (0-6) live in rural areas. Child population forms 10.51 percent of total rural population. In rural areas of Tamil Nadu, literacy rate for males and female stood at 82.04 % and 64.55 %. Average literacy rate in Tamil Nadu for rural areas was 73.54 percent. Total literates in rural areas were 24,502,195.

Description

Rural

Urban

Population (%)

51.60 %

48.40 %

Total Population

37,229,590

34,917,440

Male Population

18,679,065

17,458,910

Female Population

18,550,525

17,458,530

Population Growth

6.61 %

27.05 %

Sex Ratio

993

1000

Child Sex Ratio (0-6)

936

952

Child Population (0-6)

3,911,302

3,512,530

Child Percentage (0-6)

10.51 %

10.06 %

Literates

24,502,195

27,335,312

Average Literacy

73.54 %

87.04 %

Male Literacy

82.04 %

91.80 %

Female Literacy

64.55 %

82.31 %

 

Tamil Nadu Census 2011 Statistics

Large cities of Tamil Nadu

Population

Male

Female

Chennai (Municipal Corporation)

4,681,087

2,357,633

2,323,454

Coimbatore (Municipal Corporation)

1,061,447

531,017

530,430

Madurai (Municipal Corporation)

1,016,885

509,313

507,572

 

 Large Urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu

Population

Male

Female

Chennai

8,696,010

4,389,200

4,306,810

Coimbatore

2,151,466

1,077,812

1,073,654

Madurai

1,462,420

732,861

729,559

Tiruchirappalli

1,021,717

507,180

514,537

 

Largest District by Population in Tamil Nadu

Population

Male

Female

Chennai

4,646,732

2,335,844

2,310,888

Kancheepuram

3,998,252

2,012,958

1,985,294

Vellore

3,936,331

1,961,688

1,974,643

Thiruvallur

3,728,104

1,876,062

1,852,042

Salem

3,482,056

1,781,571

1,700,485

Viluppuram

3,458,873

1,740,819

1,718,054

Coimbatore

3,458,045

1,729,297

1,728,748

Tirunelveli

3,077,233

1,520,912

1,556,321

Madurai

3,038,252

1,526,475

1,511,777

Tiruchirappalli

2,722,290

1,352,284

1,370,006

Cuddalore

2,605,914

1,311,697

1,294,217

Tiruppur

2,479,052

1,246,159

1,232,893

Tiruvannamalai

2,464,875

1,235,889

1,228,986

Thanjavur

2,405,890

1,182,416

1,223,474

Erode

2,251,744

1,129,868

1,121,876

Dindigul

2,159,775

1,080,938

1,078,837

Virudhunagar

1,942,288

967,709

974,579

Krishnagiri

1,879,809

960,232

919,577

Kanniyakumari

1,870,374

926,345

944,029

Thoothukkudi

1,750,176

865,021

885,155

Namakkal

1,726,601

869,280

857,321

Pudukkottai

1,618,345

803,188

815,157

Nagapattinam

1,616,450

798,127

818,323

Dharmapuri

1,506,843

774,303

732,540

Ramanathapuram

1,353,445

682,658

670,787

Sivaganga

1,339,101

668,672

670,429

Thiruvarur

1,264,277

626,693

637,584

Theni

1,245,899

625,683

620,216

Karur

1,064,493

528,184

536,309

 

Largest District (km²)

 1

Viluppuram

7194

2

Tirunelveli

6693

3

Tiruvannamalai

6188

4

Vellore

6075

5

Dindigul

6036

 

Percentage of Child

1

Viluppuram

11.68 %

2

Krishnagiri

11.56 %

3

Dharmapuri

11.15 %

4

Pudukkottai

11.10 %

5

Tiruvannamalai

11.06 %

 

High Density

 1

Chennai

26553

2

Kanniyakumari

1111

3

Thiruvallur

1098

4

Kancheepuram

892

5

Madurai

819

 

Top Population Growth

1

Kancheepuram

38.95 %

2

Thiruvallur

35.33 %

3

Tiruppur

29.11 %

4

Krishnagiri

20.41 %

5

Coimbatore

18.56 %

 

High Literacy

1

Kanniyakumari

91.75 %

2

Chennai

90.18 %

3

Thoothukkudi

86.16 %

4

The Nilgiris

85.20 %

5

Kancheepuram

84.49 %

 

 High Sex Ratio

1

The Nilgiris

1042

2

Thanjavur

1035

3

Nagapattinam

1025

4

Tirunelveli

1023

5

Thoothukkudi

1023