Kerala population and Census
Census 2001 put Kerala's population at 31,841,374 persons which included 15,468,614 males and 16,372,760 females. Although Kerala accounts for only 1 per cent of the total area of India, it contains about 3 per cent of the country's population. The population density of the state is about 819 people per square kilometres, three times the national average. Kerala is one of the densest States in the country and it recorded a decadal population growth of + 9.42% (2,740,101 persons). Kerala, with a sex-ratio (females per 1000 males) of 1058, is the only state in India with a positive figure. In the human development and related indices it occupies prime position among the Indian States.
|
District |
Population | Males | Females |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 3234356 | 1569917 | 1664439 |
| Kollam | 2585208 | 1249621 | 1335587 |
| Alappuzha | 2109160 | 1014529 | 1094631 |
| Pathanamthitta | 1234016 | 589398 | 644618 |
| Kottayam | 1953646 | 964926 | 988720 |
| Idukki | 1129221 | 566682 | 562539 |
| Ernakulam | 3105798 | 1538397 | 1567401 |
| Thrissur | 2974232 | 1422052 | 1552180 |
| Palakkad | 2617482 | 1266985 | 1350497 |
| Kozhikode | 2879131 | 1399358 | 1479773 |
| Wayanad | 780619 | 391273 | 389346 |
| Malappuram | 3625471 | 1754576 | 1870895 |
| Kannur | 2408956 | 1152817 | 1256139 |
| Kasargod | 1204078 | 588083 | 615995 |
| Total | 31,841,374 | 15,468,614 | 16,372,760 |
Whereas, Alappuzha with a population density of 1496 persons per sq.km is the most densely populated district in Kerala followed by Thiruvananthapuram with 1476 persons per sq.km and Kozhikode with 1228 persons per sq.km. Idukki with a density of just 252 persons per sq.km is the least densely populated district followed by Wayanad with a density of 369 persons. The average density of population of the state is 819 persons per sq.km.
Hindus, who constitute 56.20 per cent of the total population, is the most prominent religious community in the state. This is followed byMuslims who form 24.7 per cent of the population and Christians who constitute 19 percent of the total population. Also, a small number of Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Jews and other religious communities are also present.
Kerala's urban population figures to 8266925 persons which is about one-fourth of the total population. Of the totalpopulation of Kerala, working population (main and marginal workers) constitute 32.3% and non-workers form 67.7%.
| Total Workers | Main Workers | Marginal Workers | Non-Workers |
| 10291258 (32.3%) | 8236741 | 2054517 | 21547361 (67.7%) |
Kerala being an agricultural state with an agrarian economy, a good percent of its population is confined to agriculture or other agro base industry.
| Cultivators | Agricultural Labourers | Household Industries | Others |
| 740403 (7.2%) | 1653601 (16.1%) | 364770 (3.5%) | 7532484 (73.2%) |
Census in Kerala
Prior to independence, Kerala formed part of, the two Princely States of Travancore and Cochin and of Madras Presidency. The earliest authentic account of census in this part of India is available from the "Geographical and Statistical Memoir of the Survey of Travancore and Cochin States" conducted by Lieutenants Ward and Conner during the period 1816-20. Thereafter censuses were taken in Travancore State in 1836 and Cochin State in 1854. But there are grounds to believe that frequent attempts were made by the earlier rulers of the State to collect statistics of the population and the resources of the country.
The first modern census of Travancore - Cochin was taken in 1875. From 1881 onwards the constitutional units of Kerala State had census taken at 10 year intervals with the rest of the country. The first census of this State of Kerala was taken in 1961. Thereafter, census was taken every 10 years. The last census was taken in 2001
