West Bengal Census 2011 – Population, Sex Ratio & Literacy Data

Quick Overview of West Bengal State (2021/2025 Projection)

• Estimated Population (2025): 99,836,485–105,600,000 (approx. 10 crore)
• 2011 Census Population: 91,276,115 (9.13 crore)
• Estimated Male Population (2025): ~51,741,855–53,420,000
• Estimated Female Population (2025): ~49,154,762–52,170,000
• Area: 88,752 km²
• Density (2025): 1,028–1,190/km² (2011: 1,028/km²)
• Districts: 19
• Main Language: Bengali
• Capital and Largest City: Kolkata
• ISOCODE: WB

Historic Population & Decadal Trends

Census Year	Population	Variation	Variation %	Male	Female
1901	16,940,088	–	–	8,709,000	8,231,000
1911	18,000,000	1,059,912	6.25	9,349,000	8,649,000
1921	17,476,000	-524,301	-2.91	9,173,000	8,301,000
1931	18,898,000	1,421,123	8.14	9,997,000	8,900,000
1941	23,230,000	4,331,667	22.93	12,500,000	10,700,000
1951	26,300,000	3,070,489	13.22	14,100,000	12,200,000
1961	34,926,000	8,626,476	32.80	18,600,000	16,300,000
1971	44,312,000	9,386,498	26.87	23,400,000	20,900,000
1981	54,629,000	10,316,126	23.17	28,600,000	26,000,000
1991	68,100,000	13,470,808	24.73	35,500,000	32,600,000
2001	80,176,197	12,076,197	17.77	41,465,985	38,710,212
2011	91,276,115	11,099,918	13.84	46,808,264	44,467,851

Year	Estimated Population	Total Growth Since 2011	Annual Growth
2025	99,836,485–105,600,000	9.38–15.7%	↑
2030	101,536,220	11.24%	0.36%
2036	102,521,429	12.32%	0.17%

District-wise Population (2011 Census & 2025 Estimate)

S.No.	District Name	2011 Census	2025 Estimate
1	Bankura	3,596,674	3,975,763
2	Barddhaman	7,717,563	8,530,994
3	Birbhum	3,502,404	3,871,557
4	Cooch Behar	2,819,086	3,116,218
5	Dakshin Dinajpur	1,676,276	1,852,955
6	Hooghly	5,519,145	6,100,863
7	Howrah (Haora)	4,850,029	5,361,222
8	Jalpaiguri	3,872,846	4,281,044
9	Kalimpong (Darjeeling)	1,846,823	2,041,478
10	Kolkata	4,496,694	4,970,646
11	Maldah	3,988,845	4,409,269
12	Murshidabad	7,103,807	7,852,548
13	Nadia	5,167,600	5,712,265
14	North Twenty Four Parganas	10,009,781	11,064,812
15	Paschim Medinipur	5,913,457	6,536,735
16	Purba Medinipur	5,095,875	5,632,980
17	Purulia	2,930,115	3,238,949
18	South Twenty Four Parganas	8,161,961	9,022,232
19	Uttar Dinajpur	3,007,134	3,324,086

West Bengal City-wise Population (2011 Census & 2025 Estimate)

S.No.	City Name	2011 Census Population	2025 Estimate
1	Asansol	563,917	623,354
2	Ashokenagar Kalyangarh	121,592	134,408
3	Baharampur	195,223	215,800
4	Baidyabati	121,110	133,875
5	Bally	293,373	324,295
6	Bally Town	113,377	125,327
7	Balurghat	151,416	167,375
8	Bankura	137,386	151,866
9	Bansberia	103,920	114,873
10	Baranagar	245,213	271,058
11	Barasat	278,435	307,782
12	Barddhaman	314,265	347,389
13	Barrackpur	152,783	168,886
14	Basirhat	125,254	138,456
15	Bhadreswar	101,477	112,173
16	Bhatpara	383,762	424,211
17	Bidhan Nagar	215,514	238,229
18	Bongaon	108,864	120,338
19	Champdani	111,251	122,977
20	Chandannagar	166,867	184,455
21	Dabgram	119,040	131,587
22	Darjeeling	118,805	131,327
23	Dum Dum	114,786	126,884
24	Durgapur	566,517	626,228
25	English Bazar	205,521	227,183
26	Habra	147,221	162,738
27	Haldia	200,827	221,994
28	Halisahar	124,939	138,108
29	Haora	1,077,075	1,190,599
30	Hugli and Chinsurah	177,259	195,942
31	Jalpaiguri	107,341	118,655
32	Jamuria	145,276	160,588
33	Kalyani	100,575	111,176
34	Kamarhati	330,211	365,015
35	Kanchrapara	120,345	133,029
36	Kharagpur	207,604	229,485
37	Khardaha	108,496	119,931
38	Kolkata	4,496,694	4,970,646
39	Krishnanagar	153,062	169,195
40	Kulti	313,809	346,884
41	Madhyamgram	196,127	216,799
42	Maheshtala	448,317	495,570
43	Medinipur	169,264	187,104
44	Nabadwip	125,543	138,775
45	Naihati	217,900	240,867
46	North Barrackpur	132,806	146,804
47	North Dum Dum	249,142	275,402
48	Panihati	377,347	417,119
49	Puruliya	121,067	133,827
50	Raiganj	183,612	202,965
51	Rajarhat Gopalpur	402,844	445,304
52	Rajpur Sonarpur	424,368	469,096
53	Raniganj	129,441	143,084
54	Rishra	124,577	137,707
55	Santipur	151,777	167,774
56	Serampore	181,842	201,008
57	Siliguri	513,264	567,362
58	South Dum Dum	403,316	445,826
59	Titagarh	116,541	128,824
60	Uluberia	222,240	245,664
61	Uttarpara Kotrung	159,147	175,921

Religion-wise Population Distribution

Religion	2011 Count	%	2025 Estimate
Hindu	64,385,546	70.54%	71,171,783
Muslim	24,654,825	27.01%	27,253,444
Christian	658,618	0.72%	728,036
Sikh	63,523	0.07%	70,218
Buddhist	282,898	0.31%	312,715
Jain	60,141	0.07%	66,480
Not Stated	228,267	0.25%	252,326
Others	942,297	1.03%	1,041,615

Sex Ratio

• Overall Sex Ratio (2011): 950 females per 1000 males
• Child Sex Ratio: 956
• Urban Sex Ratio: 945
• Rural Sex Ratio: 953

Religion	Sex Ratio
Hindu	949
Muslim	951
Other religions and persuasions	1006
Christian	1021

Literacy Rate

• Total Literacy Rate: 76.26%
• Male Literacy Rate: 81.69%
• Female Literacy Rate: 70.54%
• Urban Literacy Rate: 84.78%
• Rural Literacy Rate: 72.13%

Category	Avg Literacy Rate	Male	Female
Total Population	76.26	81.69	70.54
Urban Area	84.78	88.37	80.98
Rural Area	72.13	78.44	65.51

Religion	Avg Literacy Rate	Male	Female
Hindu	79.14	85.06	72.89
Muslim	68.75	72.52	64.77
Other	61.27	74.11	48.56
Christian	75.99	81.9	70.24

SC/ST Population

• Scheduled Castes (SC): 21,463,270 (23.5%); SC Sex Ratio: 951
• Scheduled Tribes (ST): 5,296,953 (5.8%); ST Sex Ratio: 999

Socio-Economic and Household Facts

• Total Households: 20,380,315
• Total Towns: 909
• Total Villages: 40,203
• Ownership Trend: 89.28% owned; 7.33% rented
• Couples in Single Family: 72.98%
• Banking/Finance Access: 48.75%
• Families Owning Car: 2.23%; two-wheelers: 8.52%
• Internet Penetration (2011): 2.21%
• Growing insurance interest with literacy

Urban vs Rural Population

• Urban Population: 29,093,002 (31.87%)
• Rural Population: 62,183,113 (68.13%)
• Urban Literacy Rate: 84.78%
• Rural Literacy Rate: 72.13%
• Urban Sex Ratio: 945
• Rural Sex Ratio: 953

Child & Slum Population

• Child Population (0-6): 10,581,466 (11.59%)
• Child Sex Ratio: 956
• Slum Population: 6,418,594 (7.03%)
• Slum Households: 1,391,756
• Slum Sex Ratio: 933

Workforce (Worker Profile)

• Total Workers: 34,756,355 (38.08% overall)
• Male Workers: 26,716,047
• Female Workers: 8,040,308

District Highlights

Description	District	2011	2025 Est.
Most Populous	North 24 Parganas	10,009,781	11,064,812
Least Populous	Dakshin Dinajpur	1,676,276	1,852,955
Highest Literacy Rate	Purba Medinipur	87.02%	–
Lowest Literacy Rate	Uttar Dinajpur	59.07%	–
Highest Sex Ratio	Kalimpong (Darjeeling)	970	–
Lowest Sex Ratio	Kolkata	908	–
Highest Density	Kolkata	24,252	–
Lowest Density	Kalimpong	239	–

Key Takeaways - West Bengal Population Growth

• Transitioned from 16.9 million (1901) to 91.3 million (2011)
• Highest decadal growth: 32.8% (1961)
• Urban population: 31.87% (2011), rising
• Majority (68.13%) remains rural
• Highest density: Kolkata 24,252/km²; lowest: Kalimpong 239/km²
• Projected to reach 102–105 million by 2036