List of states in India by past population - wikipedia List of states in India by past population Population density map of India. India is a union of twenty - nine states and seven union territories. As of 2011, with an estimated population of 1.210 billion, India is the world 's second most populated country after the People 's Republic of China. India occupies 2.4 percent of the world 's land surface area but is home to 17.5 percent of the world 's population. The Indo - Gangetic plains are among the most densely populated areas of the world. The eastern and western coastal regions of Deccan traps are also densely populated regions of India. The Thar desert in western Rajasthan is one of the most densely populated deserts in the world. The northern and north - eastern states along the Himalayas contain cold arid deserts with fertile valleys. These states have less population density due to indomitable physical barriers. Contents 1 Census of India 2 States and union territories of India by past population ( 1947 -- 2011 ) 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Census of India The first population census in India was conducted in 1872. Since then the a decennial census has been conducted in 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, and 1941 by the Government. Since India 's independence in 1947, a census has been carried out every 10 years by the Indian Government, starting from 1951. The census in India is carried out by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and is one of the largest administrative tasks conducted by a federal government. Latest population figures are based on data from the 2011 census of India. During the decade of 2001 -- 2011, India 's annual population rising rate has slowed down from 2.15 to 1.76. Based on decennial census data, Dadra and Nagar Haveli shows the highest growth rate of 55.5 percent. It is followed by Daman and Diu ( 53.5 percent ), Meghalaya ( 27.8 percent ) and Arunachal Pradesh ( 25.9 percent ). Nagaland recorded the lowest growth rate of - 0.5 percent. India has 641,000 inhabited villages and 72.2 percent of the total population reside in these rural areas. Of them 145,000 villages have population size of 500 -- 999 persons ; 130,000 villages have population size of 1000 -- 1999 and 128,000 villages have population size of 200 -- 499. There are 3,961 villages that have a population of 10,000 persons or more. India 's 27.8 percent urban population lives in more than 5,100 towns and over 380 urban agglomerations. In the decade of 1991 -- 2001, migration to major cities caused rapid increase in urban population. On the basis of net migrants by last residence during the past decade, Maharashtra had most immigration with 2.3 million, followed by National Capital Territory of Delhi ( 1.7 million ), Gujarat ( 0.68 million ) and Haryana ( 0.67 million ). Uttar Pradesh ( − 2.6 million ) and Bihar ( − 1.7 million ) topped the list for interstate emigration. The four states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and account for almost half ( 48.89 percent ) of the total Indian population. States and union territories of India by past population ( 1947 -- 2011 ) The total geographical area of India is 3,287,240 square kilometres ( 1,269,210 sq mi ). As per census data 2011, the total population of India is : 1,210,193,422. Rank State or union territory Population ( 1951 Census ) Population ( 1961 Census ) Population ( 1971 Census ) Population ( 1981 Census ) Population ( 1991 Census ) Population ( 2001 Census ) Population ( 2011 Census ) Uttar Pradesh 60,274,800 70,144,160 83,849,775 105,113,300 132,062,800 166,053,600 199,581,477 Maharashtra 32,002,500 39,554,900 50,412,240 62,782,820 78,937,190 96,752,500 112,372,972 Bihar 29,085,900 34,841,490 42,126,800 52,303,000 64,531,200 82,879,910 103,804,630 West Bengal 26,300,670 34,926,000 44,312,017 54,580,650 68,077,970 80,221,300 91,347,736 5 Madhya Pradesh 18,615,700 23,218,950 30,017,180 38,169,500 48,566,800 60,385,090 72,597,565 6 Tamil Nadu 30,119,680 33,687,100 41,199,170 48,408,080 55,859,300 62,111,390 72,138,958 7 Rajasthan 15,971,130 20,156,540 25,765,810 34,361,860 44,005,990 56,473,300 68,621,012 8 Karnataka 19,402,500 23,587,910 29,299,015 37,135,710 44,977,200 52,734,986 61,130,704 9 Gujarat 16,263,700 20,633,305 26,697,488 34,085,800 41,309,580 50,597,200 60,383,628 10 Andhra Pradesh 31,115,000 35,983,480 43,502,710 53,551,030 66,508,170 75,728,400 49,665,533 11 Odisha 14,646,100 17,549,500 21,944,625 26,370,270 31,659,740 36,707,900 41,947,358 12 Telangana N / A N / A N / A N / A N / A N / A 35,193,978 13 Kerala 13,549,000 16,904,560 21,347,300 25,453,680 29,098,523 31,839,000 33,387,677 14 Jharkhand 9,697,300 11,606,504 14,227,493 17,612,000 21,844,550 26,946,070 32,966,238 15 Assam 8,029,100 10,837,700 14,625,157 18,041,250 22,414,320 26,638,600 31,169,272 16 Punjab 9,160,990 11,135,404 13,551,069 16,788,920 20,281,971 24,289,130 27,704,236 17 Haryana 5,674,400 7,591,190 10,036,430 12,922,122 16,464,600 21,083,900 25,753,081 18 Chhattisgarh 7,457,700 9,154,330 11,637,800 14,010,110 17,615,600 20,834,530 25,540,196 19 Jammu and Kashmir 3,254,650 3,561,100 4,616,632 5,987,389 7,718,700 10,070,300 12,548,926 20 Uttarakhand 2,946,900 3,611,200 4,493,800 5,726,550 7,051,600 8,489,100 10,116,752 21 Himachal Pradesh 2,386,940 2,812,300 3,460,434 4,280,818 5,170,877 6,077,453 6,856,509 22 Tripura 639,984 1,142,282 1,556,342 2,053,058 2,757,205 3,191,880 3,671,032 23 Meghalaya 606,300 769,990 1,011,699 1,335,819 1,774,778 2,306,540 2,964,007 24 Manipur 578,060 780,340 1,073,509 1,421,290 1,837,900 2,294,480 2,721,756 25 Nagaland 213,700 369,309 516,110 775,570 1,210,492 1,990,275 1,980,602 26 Goa 547,000 590,875 795,997 1,008,373 1,170,115 1,348,900 1,457,723 27 Arunachal Pradesh NA 337,300 468,885 632,502 865,900 1,098,328 1,382,611 28 Mizoram 196,970 266,200 332,190 494,440 690,963 889,690 1,091,014 29 Sikkim 138,093 162,863 210,205 316,840 406,000 541,902 607,688 UT1 Delhi 1,744,500 2,659,990 4,066,400 6,220,973 9,421,311 13,851,503 16,753,235 UT2 Puducherry 317,407 369,355 472,836 604,281 808,117 974,820 1,244,464 UT3 Chandigarh 24,948 120,480 257,100 452,960 642,374 901,080 1,054,686 UT4 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 31,480 64,160 115,874 189,496 281,990 356,650 379,944 UT5 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 42,846 58,020 74,880 104,300 138,290 220,963 342,853 UT6 Daman and Diu 49,482 37,587 63,000 79,842 102,110 158,080 242,911 UT7 Lakshadweep 21,000 24,370 32,900 40,250 52,820 61,300 64,429 Total India 361,088,400 439,235,720 548,160,050 683,329,900 846,421,830 1,028,737,690 1,210,193,422 See also States and union territories of India ordered by Area Population Abbreviations Capitals Child Nutrition Crime rate Economic Freedom Electricity penetration Fertility rate Forest cover GDP ( per capita ) Highest point HIV awareness HDI Home ownership Household size Human Trafficking Institutional delivery Life expectancy at birth Literacy rate Media exposure Number of Vehicles Number of voters Obesity Open defecation Origin of name Places of worship Poverty Power capacity Riots rate Safe Drinking Water Safety of Women School Enrollment Rate Sex ratio Suicides Tax revenues Ease of Doing Business TV ownership Toilet availability Transport network Underweight people Unemployment Vaccination coverage List of Indian states by GDP Demographics of India List of most populous metropolitan areas in India List of country subdivisions by population Census of India prior to independence 2011 Census of India References Jump up ^ `` States and union territories ''. Government of India ( 2001 ). Census of India. Retrieved 2007 - 09 - 07. ^ Jump up to : `` Area and Population ''. Government of India ( 2011 ). Census of India. Retrieved 2011 - 04 - 07. Jump up ^ `` India - General Profile, Land Use Classification and Land Use Pattern '' ( PDF ). National Informatics Centre ( NIC ). Ministry of Environment & Forests ( MoEF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2006 - 05 - 14. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Census Organisation of India ''. Government of India ( 2001 ). Census of India. Archived from the original on 2008 - 12 - 01. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Brief history of census ''. Government of India ( 2001 ). Census of India. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 26. ^ Jump up to : The Hindu ( PDF ). Chennai, India http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/00517/India_Census_2011___517160a.pdf. Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Urban Agglomerations ( UAs ) & towns ''. Government of India ( 2001 ). Census of India. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 04. Jump up ^ Shinde, Swati ( 13 Sep 2008 ). `` Migration rate to city will dip ''. Times of India. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Develop towns to stop migration to urban areas : economist ''. Chennai, India : Hindu. Dec 3, 2005. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Migration ''. Government of India ( 2001 ). Census of India. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 26. ^ Jump up to : http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2006-07/chapt2007/tab97.pdf External links Official Website of Census of India Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_states_in_India_by_past_population&oldid=800415242 '' Categories : States and territories of India - related lists Ranked lists of country subdivisions Hidden categories : Pages with citations lacking titles Pages with citations having bare URLs Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Français Gaeilge Galego हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia ಕನ್ನಡ Magyar मराठी Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 13 September 2017, at 11 : 48. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: which state of india has recorded the highest rate of population growth in the last census
Answer: Dadra and Nagar Haveli