Tamil Nadu Census 2011 – Population, Sex Ratio & Literacy Data

Quick Overview of Tamil Nadu State (2021/2025 Projection)

• Estimated Population (2025): 77,140,959–85,300,000
• 2011 Census Population: 72,147,030
• Estimated Male Population (2025): 38,500,000–41,932,750
• Estimated Female Population (2025): 38,700,000–41,765,019
• Area: 130,060 km²
• Density (2025): 555/km²
• Districts: 32
• Main Language: Tamil
• Capital and Largest City: Chennai
• ISOCODE: TN

Historic Population & Decadal Trends

Census Year	Population	Variation	Variation %	Male	Female
1901	1.93 Cr	–	–	94.19 Lac	98.33 Lac
1911	2.09 Cr	16.50 Lac	8.57	1.02 Cr	1.07 Cr
1921	2.16 Cr	7.26 Lac	3.47	1.07 Cr	1.10 Cr
1931	2.35 Cr	18.44 Lac	8.52	1.16 Cr	1.19 Cr
1941	2.63 Cr	27.95 Lac	11.91	1.31 Cr	1.32 Cr
1951	3.01 Cr	38.52 Lac	14.66	1.50 Cr	1.51 Cr
1961	3.37 Cr	35.68 Lac	11.85	1.69 Cr	1.68 Cr
1971	4.12 Cr	75.12 Lac	22.30	2.08 Cr	2.04 Cr
1981	4.84 Cr	72.09 Lac	17.50	2.45 Cr	2.39 Cr
1991	5.59 Cr	74.51 Lac	15.39	2.83 Cr	2.76 Cr
2001	6.24 Cr	65.47 Lac	11.72	3.14 Cr	3.10 Cr
2011	7.21 Cr	97.41 Lac	15.61	3.61 Cr	3.60 Cr

Year	Estimated Population	Total Growth Since 2011	Annual Growth
2025	7,71,40,959	6.92%	↑
2030	7,77,24,613	7.73%	0.15%
2036	7,77,52,501	7.77%	–

District-wise Population (2011 vs 2025)

S.No.	District Name	2011 Census	2025 Estimate
1	Ariyalur	754,894	875,753
2	Chennai	4,646,732	5,390,674
3	Coimbatore	3,458,045	4,011,678
4	Cuddalore	2,605,914	3,023,121
5	Dharmapuri	1,506,843	1,748,089
6	Dindigul	2,159,775	2,505,555
7	Erode	2,251,744	2,612,248
8	Kanchipuram	3,998,252	4,638,372
9	Kanyakumari	1,870,374	2,169,821
10	Karur	1,064,493	1,234,918
11	Krishnagiri	1,879,809	2,180,766
12	Madurai	3,038,252	3,524,676
13	Nagapattinam	1,616,450	1,875,244
14	Namakkal	1,726,601	2,003,030
15	Perambalur	565,223	655,715
16	Pudukkottai	1,618,345	1,877,442
17	Ramanathapuram	1,353,445	1,570,132
18	Salem	3,482,056	4,039,533
19	Sivaganga	1,339,101	1,553,491
20	Thanjavur	2,405,890	2,791,073
21	The Nilgiris	735,394	853,131
22	Theni	1,245,899	1,445,367
23	Thoothukudi	1,750,176	2,030,379
24	Tiruchirappalli	2,722,290	3,158,129
25	Tirunelveli	3,077,233	3,569,898
26	Tirupur	2,479,052	2,875,948
27	Tiruvallur	3,728,104	4,324,973
28	Tiruvannamalai	2,464,875	2,859,501
29	Tiruvarur	1,264,277	1,466,688
30	Vellore	3,936,331	4,566,538
31	Viluppuram	3,458,873	4,012,639
32	Virudhunagar	1,942,288	2,253,248

Tamil Nadu City-wise Population Table (2011 Census Data)

S.No	City Name	Population (2011)
1	Chennai	4,681,087
2	Coimbatore	1,061,447
3	Madurai	1,016,885
4	Tiruchirappalli	846,915
5	Salem	831,038
6	Ambattur	478,134
7	Tirunelveli	474,838
8	Tiruppur	444,543
9	Avadi	344,701
10	Tiruvottiyur	248,059
11	Thoothukkudi	237,374
12	Nagercoil	224,329
13	Thanjavur	222,619
14	Pallavaram	216,308
15	Dindigul	207,225
16	Vellore	185,895
17	Tambaram	176,807
18	Cuddalore	173,361
19	Kancheepuram	164,265
20	Alandur	164,162
21	Erode	156,953
22	Tiruvannamalai	144,683
23	Kumbakonam	140,113
24	Rajapalayam	130,119
25	Kurichi	125,800
26	Madavaram	118,525
27	Pudukkottai	117,215
28	Hosur	116,821
29	Ambur	113,856
30	Karaikkudi	106,793
31	Neyveli	105,687
32	Nagapattinam	102,838

Religion-wise Population Distribution

Religion	2011 Count	%	2025 Estimate
Hindu	63,188,168	87.58%	73,304,594
Muslim	4,229,479	5.86%	4,906,619
Christian	4,418,331	6.12%	5,125,706
Sikh	14,601	0.02%	16,939
Buddhist	11,186	0.02%	12,977
Jain	89,265	0.12%	103,556
Not Stated	188,586	0.26%	218,779
Others	7,414	0.01%	8,601

Sex Ratio

• Overall Sex Ratio (2011): 996–997 females per 1000 males
• Child Sex Ratio: 943 (2011), 944 (recent)
• Urban Sex Ratio: 1000
• Rural Sex Ratio: 994–993

Religion	Sex Ratio
Hindu	993
Christian	1035
Muslim	1015
Not Stated	1122

Literacy Rate & Education

• Total Literacy Rate: 80.09%
• Male Literacy Rate: 86.74–86.77%
• Female Literacy Rate: 73.44–73.45%
• Urban Literacy Rate: 87.04%
• Rural Literacy Rate: 73.54%

Category	Avg Literacy Rate	Male	Female
Total Population	80.09	86.77	73.44
Urban Area	87.04	91.80	82.31
Rural Area	73.54	82.04	65.05

Religion	Avg Literacy Rate	Male	Female
Hindu	78.83	85.92	71.72
Christian	90.14	93.17	87.23
Muslim	88.17	92.76	83.69
Not Stated	83.36	89.14	78.43

SC/ST Population

• Scheduled Castes (SC): 14,438,445 (20.01%); SC Sex Ratio: 1,005
• Scheduled Tribes (ST): 794,697 (1.1%); ST Sex Ratio: 982

Socio-Economic and Household Facts

• Total Households: 18,524,982
• Total Towns: 1,097
• Total Villages: 15,979
• Ownership Trend: 74.55% owned; 23.37% rented
• Couples in Single Family: 74.38%
• Banking/Finance Access: 52.52%
• Families Owning Car: 4.30%; two-wheelers: 32.32%
• Internet Penetration (2011): 4.18%
• Increasing insurance interest with literacy growth

Urban vs Rural Population

• Urban Population: 34,917,440 (48.4%)
• Rural Population: 37,229,590 (51.6%)
• Urban Literacy Rate: 87.04%
• Rural Literacy Rate: 73.54%
• Urban Sex Ratio: 1000
• Rural Sex Ratio: 994

Child & Slum Population

• Child Population (0-6): 7,423,832 (10.29% of total)
• Child Sex Ratio: 943–944
• Slum Population: 5,798,459 (8.04%)
• Slum Households: 1,463,689
• Slum Sex Ratio: 1,009

Workforce (Worker Profile)

• Total Workers: 32,884,681 (45.58% overall)
• Male Workers: 21,434,978
• Female Workers: 11,449,703

Metropolitan Regions (2011)

Region	Population	Male	Female
Chennai	8,653,521	4,358,612	4,294,909
Coimbatore	2,136,916	1,071,435	1,065,481
Madurai	1,465,625	733,821	731,804
Tiruchirappalli	1,022,518	507,632	514,886
Tiruppur	963,173	489,200	473,973
Salem	917,414	462,278	455,136
Erode	521,891	261,630	260,261

District Highlights

Description	District	2011	2025 Est.
Most Populous	Chennai	4,646,732	5,390,674
Least Populous	Perambalur	565,223	655,715
Highest Sex Ratio	The Nilgiris	1,042	–
Lowest Sex Ratio	Dharmapuri	946	–
Highest Literacy Rate	Kanyakumari	91.75%	–
Lowest Literacy Rate	Dharmapuri	68.54%	–
Highest Density	Chennai	17,000	–
Lowest Density	The Nilgiris	288	–

Key Takeaways - Tamil Nadu Population Growth

• Transitioned from 1.93 Cr in 1901 to 7.21 Cr in 2011
• Highest decadal growth: 22.3% (1971)
• Urbanization rising: 48.4% urban (2011)
• 51.6% population still rural as of 2011
• Projected to reach nearly 7.78 Cr by 2036