Census of India

Census is one of the most important topics in General Awareness. Many questions are asked from the Census of India. Here we are going to discuss the Census of 2011.

Census is conducted in every 10 years so the next census will be conducted for 2021.

What is the census?

Census is nothing more than a process of gathering, compiling, analyzing, evaluating, publishing and disseminating population statistical data. It covers demographic, social and economic data and is provided on a specific date.

When was the first census Conducted in India?

Census operations started in India long back during the period of the Maurya dynasty. It was systematized during the years 1865 to 1872, though it has been conducted uninterruptedly from the year 1881 being a trustworthy resource of information.

Why is the census of India important?

The Indian Census has been the most credible source of information since 1872 on demographics (population characteristics), economic activity, literacy and education, housing and household amenities, urbanization, fertility and mortality, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, language, religion, migration, handicap, and many other socio-cultural and demographic data.

The 2011 census is the country’s 15th National Census. It provides valuable information for planning and formulating policies for central and state governments and is widely used by national and international agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.

Census is the basis for reviewing the progress of the country over the past decade, monitoring the government’s ongoing schemes, and most importantly, planning for the future.

Facts about Census 2011

  • It is conducted in every 10 years.
  • Census 2011 data was released on 31st March 2011 by Union Home Secretary and RGCCI (Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India) of India.
  • Census 2011 was the 15th census of India & 7th census after Independence.
  • The motto of census 2011 was “Our Census, Our future”.
  • Registrar General & Census Commissioner under whom census 2011 was conducted – .Chandra Mouli
  • Present Registrar General & Census Commissioner – Shri Sailesh,
  • Total Population – 1,210,569,573 (1.21 Billion)
  • India in 2nd rank in the population with 17.64%. decadal growth.
  • Increase in population during 2001 – 2011 is 181 Million
  • Census 2011 was held in two phases:
  • Houselisting & Housing Census (April to September 2010)
  • Population Enumeration (9th to 28th February 2011)
  • Number of Administrative Units in Census 2011

States/UTs 35
Districts 640
Sub-districts 5,924
Towns 7,936
Villages 6.41 lakh

Facts about districts

  • Thane district of Maharashtra is the most populated district of India.
  • Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh is the least populated.
  • Kurung Kumey of Arunachal Pradesh registered the highest population growth rate of 111.01 Percent.
  • Longleng district of Nagaland registered a negative population growth rate of (-)58.39.
  • Mahe district of Puducherry has the highest sex ratio of 1176 females per 1000 males.
  • Daman district has the lowest sex ratio of 533 females per 1000 males.
  • Serchhip district of Mizoram has the highest literacy rate of 98.76 Percent.
  • Alirajpur of MP is the least literate district of India with the figure of 37.22 Percent only.
  • North East Delhi has the highest density with the figure of 37346 people per square kilometre.
  • Dibang Valley has the least density of 1 person per sq. km

Facts about cities

  • Mumbai city of Maharashtra is the most populated city in India.
  • Kapurthala city of Punjab is the least populated.
  • Kozhikode of Kerala has the highest sex ratio of 1093 females per 1000 males.
  • Bhiwandi city of Maharashtra has the lowest sex ratio of 709 females per 1000 males.
  • Aizawl city of Mizoram has the highest literacy rate of 98.76 Percent.
  • Sambhal of UP is the least literate city in India with a figure of 48 Percent only.
  • North East Delhi has the highest density with the figure of 37346 people per square kilometre.
FEATUREINDIATOP 3 STATEBOTTOM 3 STATEOTHER FACT
    The average annual growth rate      1.64 %Meghalaya (2.49 %)Arunachal Pradesh (2.3 %) Bihar (2.26 %)  1. Goa (.79%) Andhra Pradesh (1.07%)Sikkim (1.17%)During 2001-2011, as many as 25 States/UTs with a share of about 85% of the country’s population registered an annual growth rate of Less than 2%.
Table: The average annual growth rate

            Decadal growth rate            17.60%        Meghalaya (27.8 %)Arunachal Pradesh (25.9 %) Bihar (25.1 %)        Nagaland ( -0.5 %) Kerala (4.9 %) 3. Goa (8.2 %)Nagaland is only the state that has negative growth rate.2001-2011 is the first decade (with the exception of 1911-1921) which has actually added lesser population compared to the previous decadeDistricts with highest and lowest decadal growth rate were Kurung Kumey and Longleng respectively.
      Population Density      382Bihar (1,106 per sq km)West Bengal (1030 per sq km)Kerala ( 859 per sq km)Arunachal Pradesh (17 per sq km)Mizoram (52 per sq km) 3. J&K (56 per sq km)  Top 2 Districts: North East (NCT of Delhi) and ChennaiBottom 2 district: Dibang Valley and Samba.
                Population (in terms of numbers)    Total – 1210.19 million Males – 623.7 million (51.54%) Females – 586.46 million (48.46%) Rural population– 833 million Urban population – 377 millionTotal 1. Uttar Pradesh (19.9 million , 16.5% ) 2. Maharashtra (11 million – 9.28%) 3. Bihar (10 million – 8.6%) Male U.P. Maharashtra Bihar Female U.P. Maharashtra Bihar Rural Population UP Bihar West BengalTotal Sikkim (6.07 lakh – 0.05%)Mizoram (10.9 lakh – 0.09 %) Arunachal Pradesh (13.8 lakh – 0.11%) MaleSikkimMizoramArunachal Pradesh Female Sikkim Mizoram Arunachal Pradesh Rural Population 1. Mizoram    Top Metros 1. Mumbai (18,394,912) 2. Delhi
3. ChennaiThe population of India is almost equal to the combined population of U.S.A., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together (1214.3 million)!Top 2 Districts: Thane(Maharashtra) and North Twenty Four Parganas (West Bengal)Bottom 2 Districts: Dibang Valley (Arunachal Pradesh) and Anjaw (Arunachal Pradesh).

  Urban population Maharashtra U.P. Tamil NaduSikkimGoa   Urban population SikkimArunachal PradeshNagaland 
      Sex ratio      940Kerala (1084)Tamil Nadu (996)Andhra Pradesh (993)Haryana (879)Jammu and Kashmir (889)Sikkim (890)This is the highest Sex Ratio recorded since Census 1971Top 2 Districts: Mahe and AlmoraBottom 2 Districts: Daman and Leh
    Fertility rate (2013)    2.3  1. Bihar (3.4) 2. U.P. (3.17) 3. Meghalaya (3.1)Sikkim (1.45)West Bengal (1.64)Tamil Nadu (1.7) 
                    Literacy Rate              Overall – 74% Male – 82.14% Female – 65.46Overall Kerala (93.9%)Mizoram (91.6%)Tripura (87.8%) Male 1 Kerala (96 %) Mizoram (93.7%)Goa (92.8%)   Female Kerala (92%)Mizoram (89.4%)Tripura (83.1%)Overall Bihar (63.80%)Arunachal Pradesh (67%)Rajasthan (67.11%) MaleBihar (73.5%)Arunachal Pradesh (73.7 %) Andhra Pradesh(75.6 %) Female Rajasthan (52.7%)Bihar (53.3%)Jammu andHighest literacy rate according to Religion – Jain (94 %) > Christian (80%) > Buddhist (74%)Area – Rural (68.9 %) Urban ( 85%)Literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 percent in 2001 to 74.04 percent in 2011 showing an increase of 9.21 percentage points.Ten States and Union Territories viz., Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Tripura, Goa, Daman & Diu, Puducherry, Chandigarh, NCT of Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar Islands have achieved the literacy rate of above 85 PercentThe gap of 21.59 percentage points
   Kashmir (58%)recorded between male and female literacy rates in 2001 Census has reduced to 16.68 percentage points in 2011. Top 2 Districts: Serchhip and AizwalBottom 2 Districts Alirajpur and Bijapur
  Work participation rateOverall (39 %)Male (45 %) Female (14 %)    1. Mizoram    KeralaGoa 
            Tribe      550 tribes8.2% of the total Population of India10 million populationPopulation wise 1. MP (1.5 million) 2. Maharashtra (1.0 million) 3. Gujrat (.89 million) Tribal density wise MizoramNagalandMeghalayaPopulation wise Punjab (zero)Haryana (zero)Goa (32,000)   Tribal density wise Punjab (zero)Haryana (zero) 
      State (Area)      32.87 Lakh km21. Rajasthan (3.42 Lakh km2) 2. M.P. (3.08 Lakh km2) 3. Maharashtra (3.07 Lakh km2)  1. Goa (3702 km2) Sikkim (7096 km2)Tripura (10,486 km2) 
    Urbanisation 1. Goa (62%) Mizoram (52%)Tamil Nadu (48%)Himachal Pradesh (10%)Bihar (10.29%)Maharashtra has highest no. of cities – 18 in numbers
   3. Assam (14%) 
    Slums    6.5 million total population1. Maharashtra (1.1 million ) Andhra PradeshTamil Nadu  Arunachal Pradesh (15,000)GoaSikkim 
      Child sex ratio (female per 1000 male in the age group of 0-6)          914    Mizoram (971 )Meghalaya (970) 3. Chattisgarh (964)      Haryana (830)Punjab (846) 3. J&K (859)No state in India that crosses 1000 female per 1000 male in the age group of 0-6.The total number of children in the age-group 0-6 is 158.8 million (-5 million since 2001).The Child Sex Ratio at India level (914) is lowest since Independence
The proportion of child population in the age group 0-6    13.10%Meghalaya (18.8 %)Bihar (17.9 %) 3. J&K (16 %)1. Tamil Nadu (9.6 %) 2. Goa (9.6 %) 3. Kerala (10 %) 
  Per Capita Net State Domestic Product at Current Prices (2011-12)      60972 Rs.Goa (1,92,000 Rs ) Haryana (1,09,000 Rs)Tamil Nadu (84,000 Rs)  Bihar (24,000 Rs)U.P. (29,000 Rs)Jharkhand (32,000 Rs) 
Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line (Tendulkar Methodology)    29.8% (2011- 12)  1. Bihar 2. Chattisgarh 3. Manipur  GoaJ&KHimachal Pradesh 
Age structureAdolescent (36.5 %) Adult (56.7%) Old (6.8 %)
Major languageHindi (40%) Bengali (8%) Telugu (7.8%)
Language family 1. Indo – European (Aryan – 73%)
 Dravidian (20%)Austric (Nishad – 1.3%)
    Religion- Percentage of populationReligion Numbers (Percent of the population) Hindu 96.63 crore (79.8 %) Muslim 17.22 crore (14.2%) Christian 2.78 crore (2.3%) Sikh 2.08 crore (1.7%) Buddhist 0.84 crore (0.7%) Jain 0.45 crore (0.4%)  Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikhs are in majority in 28,4,2,1 state respectively.