Population Facts about India

General Points

• India's population as of Census 2011 was 1,21,05,69,573.
• The census moment was 00.00 hours of 1 March 2001.
• India's population in 2001 was 1,028 million (532.1 million males and 496.4 million females).
• India's population grew by 18,14,55,986 (17.64%) at a rate of 1.64% per annum from 2001 to 2011.
• India accounts for 2.4% of the world surface area but supports 17.5% of the world population.

India in relation to other countries

• India's growth in population during 2001-11 was slightly lower than that of Brazil.
• China's decadal growth rate is 0.53% compared to India's 1.64%.
• India is likely to overtake China as the most populous country in the world by 2030.
• China, India, and the USA account for 40% of the world population.
• India's population is almost equal to the combined population of USA, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Japan.

Population Growth - 1901-2011

• India's population in 1901 was 23,83,96,327 and increased to more than four times in 2011.
• India's population grew by one and a half times in the first half of the twentieth century and three times in the latter half.
• India's population decreased from 25,20,93,390 to 25,13,21,213 during 1911-1921.
• India's population in 1951, four years after independence, was 36,10,88,090.

Density of Population

• India's population density is 382 persons per square kilometre, which was 325 persons in 2001.
• India had a population density of 77 persons per sq. km in 1901.

Gender Composition

• India's population has 62,37,34,248 males and 58,64,69,174 females.
• The sex ratio is 943 females per 1000 males, which is an improvement from 2001.
• India had the highest sex ratio in 1901 (972) and the worst in 1991 (927).
• India has a poorer sex ratio than its neighbors such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, but better than China, Afghanistan, and Bhutan.

Literacy

• A person aged 7 and above who can read and write with understanding in any language is treated as literate.
• The overall literacy rate as per 2011 census is 74.04% (65% in 2001).
• The literacy rate for males is 82.14% and for females is 65.46%.