2011 Census of India - Wikipedia 2011 Census of India 15th Census of India General information Country India Date taken 2010 - 2011 Total population 1,210,193,422 Percent change 17.70 % Most populous state Uttar Pradesh ( 199,812,341 ) Least populous state Sikkim ( 610,577 ) The 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings. Information for National Population Register was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12 - digit unique identification number to all registered Indian residents by Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI ). The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 and 28 February 2011. Census has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected. According to the provisional reports released on 31 March 2011, the Indian population increased to 121 crore with a decadal growth of 17.64 %. Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04 % with a decadal growth of 9.21 %. The motto of census 2011 was ' Our Census, Our future '. Spread across 29 states and 7 union territories, the census covered 640 districts, 5,767 tehsils, 7,933 towns and more than 6 lakh villages. A total of 27 lakh officials visited households in 7,933 towns and 6 lakh villages, classifying the population according to gender, religion, education and occupation. The cost of the exercise was approximately ₹ 2,200 crore ( US $340 million ) -- this comes to less than $0.50 per person, well below the estimated world average of $4.60 per person. Conducted every 10 years, this census faced big challenges considering India 's vast area and diversity of cultures and opposition from the manpower involved. Information on castes was included in the census following demands from several ruling coalition leaders including Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sharad Yadav and SP suprimo Mulayam Singh Yadav supported by opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Information on caste was last collected during the British Raj in 1931. During the early census, people often exaggerated their caste status to garner social status and it is expected that people downgrade it now in the expectation of gaining government benefits. Earlier, there was speculation of conduction caste - based census in 2011, first time after 80 years since 1931, to find the exact population of Other Backward Class ( OBCs ) in India, which was later accepted and Socio - Economic Caste Census 2011 was conducted whose first findings were revealed on 3 July 2015 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Mandal Commission report of 1980 quoted OBC population at 52 %, though National Sample Survey Organisation ( NSSO ) survey of 2006 quoted OBC population at 41 % There is only one instance of a caste - count in post-independence India. It was conducted in Kerala in 1968 by the Communist government under EMS Namboodiripad to assess the social and economic backwardness of various lower castes. The census was termed Socio - Economic Survey of 1968 and the results were published in the Gazetteer of Kerala, 1971. Contents 1 Census 2 Information 2.1 House - listings 2.2 Population enumeration 2.3 National Population Register 3 Census report 4 Population 5 Religious demographics 6 Literacy 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links Census C Chandramauli was the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India for the 2011 Indian Census. Census data was collected in 16 languages and the training manual was prepared in 18 languages. In 2011, India and Bangladesh also conducted their first - ever joint census of areas along their border. The census was conducted in two phases. The first, the house - listing phase, began on 1 April 2010 and involved collection of data about all the buildings and census houses. Information for the National Population Register was also collected in the first phase. The second, the population enumeration phase, was conducted from 9 -- 28 February 2011 all over the country. The eradication of epidemics, the availability of more effective medicines for the treatment of various types of diseases and the improvement in the standard of living were the main reasons for the high decadal growth of population in India. Information House - listings The House - listing schedule contained 35 questions. Building number Census house number Predominant material of floor, wall and roof of the census house Ascertain use of actual house Condition of the census house Household number Total number of persons in the household Name of the head of the household Sex of the head Caste status ( SC or ST or others ) Ownership status of the house Number of dwelling rooms Number of married couple the household Main source of drinking water Availability of drinking water source Main source of lighting Latrine within the premises Type of latrine facility Waste water outlet connection Bathing facility within the premises Availability of kitchen Fuel used for cooking Radio / Transistor Television Computer / Laptop Telephone / Mobile phone Bicycle Scooter / Motor cycle / Moped Car / Jeep / Van Availing Banking services. Population enumeration The Population enumeration schedule contained 30 questions. Name of the person Relationship to head Sex Date of birth and age Current marital status Age at marriage Religion Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe Disability Mother tongue Other languages known Literacy status Status of attendance ( Education ) Highest educational level attained Working any time during last year Category of economic activity Occupation Nature of industry Trade or service Class of worker Non economic activity Seeking or available for work Travel to place of work Birthplace Place of last residence Reason for migration Duration of stay in the place of migration Children surviving Children ever born Number of children born alive during last one year National population Register The National Population Register household schedule contained 9 questions. Name of the person and resident status Name of the person as should appear in the population register Relationship to head gender Date of birth Marital status Educational qualification Occupation / Activity Names of father, mother and spouse Once the information was collected and digitised, fingerprints were taken and photos collected. Unique Identification Authority of India was to issue a 12 - digit identification number to all individuals and the first ID was to have been issued in 2011. Census report Decadal growth of Indian population ( 1901 -- 2011 ). Provisional data from the census was released on 31 March 2011 ( and was updated on 20 May 2013 ). Transgender population was counted in population census in India for first time in 2011. The official count of the third gender in India is 4.9 lakh Population Total 1,210,854,977 Males 623,724,248 Females 586,469,174 Literacy Total 74 % Males 82.10 % Females 65.50 % Density of population per km 382 Sex ratio per 1000 males 940 females Child sex ratio ( 0 -- 6 age group ) per 1000 males 919 Population The population of India as per 2011 census was 1,210,193,422. India added 181.5 million to its population since 2001, slightly lower than the population of Brazil. India, with 2.4 % of the world 's surface area, accounts for 17.5 % of its population. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with roughly 200 million people. A little over 5 out of 10 Indians live in the six states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Of the 121 crore Indians, 83.3 crore ( 68.84 % ) live in rural areas while 37.7 crore stay in urban areas. 45.36 crore people in India are migrants, which is 37.8 % of total population. India is the homeland of major belief systems such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, while also being home to several indigenous faiths and tribal religions which have survived the influence of major religions for centuries. Ever since its inception, the Census of India has been collecting and publishing information about the religious affiliations as expressed by the people of India. In fact, population census has the rare distinction of being the only instrument that collects this diverse and important characteristic of the Indian population. Population distribution in India by states Rank State / Union Territory ( UT ) Type Population % of total population Males Females Sex Ratio Literacy rate ( % ) Rural Population Urban Population Area ( km2 ) Density ( / km2 ) Decadal Growth % ( 2001 - 2011 ) Uttar Pradesh State 199,812,341 16.5 104,480,510 95,331,831 930 67.68 155,111,022 44,470,455 240,928 828 20.1 % Maharashtra State 112,374,333 9.28 58,243,056 54,131,277 929 82.34 61,545,441 50,827,531 307,713 365 16.0 % Bihar State 104,099,452 8.6 54,278,157 49,821,295 918 61.80 92,075,028 11,729,609 94,163 1,102 25.1 % West Bengal State 91,276,115 7.54 46,809,027 44,467,088 950 76.26 62,213,676 29,134,060 88,752 1,030 13.9 % 5 Andhra Pradesh State 84,580,777 6.99 42,442,146 42,138,631 993 67.02 56,361,702 28,219,075 275,045 308 11.1 % 6 Madhya Pradesh State 72,626,809 6.00 37,612,306 35,014,503 931 69.32 52,537,899 20,059,666 308,245 236 20.3 % 7 Tamil Nadu State 72,147,030 5.96 36,137,975 36,009,055 996 80.09 37,189,229 34,949,729 130,058 555 15.6 % 8 Rajasthan State 68,548,437 5.66 35,550,997 32,997,440 928 66.11 51,540,236 17,080,776 342,239 201 21.4 % 9 Karnataka State 61,095,297 5.05 30,966,657 30,128,640 973 75.36 37,552,529 23,578,175 191,791 319 15.7 % 10 Gujarat State 60,439,692 4.99 31,491,260 28,948,432 919 78.03 34,670,817 25,712,811 196,024 308 19.2 % 11 Odisha State 41,974,218 3.47 21,212,136 20,762,082 979 72.87 34,951,234 6,996,124 155,707 269 14.0 % 12 Kerala State 33,406,061 2.76 16,027,412 17,378,649 1,084 94.00 17,445,506 15,932,171 38,863 859 4.9 % 13 Jharkhand State 32,988,134 2.72 16,930,315 16,057,819 948 66.41 25,036,946 7,929,292 79,714 414 22.3 % 14 Assam State 31,205,576 2.58 15,939,443 15,266,133 958 72.19 26,780,526 4,388,756 78,438 397 16.9 % 15 Punjab State 27,743,338 2.29 14,639,465 13,103,873 895 75.84 17,316,800 10,387,436 50,362 550 13.7 % 16 Chhattisgarh State 25,545,198 2.11 12,832,895 12,712,303 991 70.28 19,603,658 5,936,538 135,191 189 22.6 % 17 Haryana State 25,351,462 2.09 13,494,734 11,856,728 879 75.55 16,531,493 8,821,588 44,212 573 19.9 % 18 Delhi UT 16,787,941 1.39 8,887,326 7,800,615 868 86.21 944,727 12,905,780 1,484 11,297 21 % 19 Jammu and Kashmir State 12,541,302 1.04 6,640,662 5,900,640 889 67.16 9,134,820 3,414,106 222,236 56 23.7 % 20 Uttarakhand State 10,086,292 0.83 5,137,773 4,948,519 963 79.63 7,025,583 3,091,169 53,483 189 19.2 % 21 Himachal Pradesh State 6,864,602 0.57 3,481,873 3,382,729 972 82.80 6,167,805 688,704 55,673 123 12.8 % 22 Tripura State 3,673,917 0.30 1,874,376 1,799,541 960 87.22 2,710,051 960,981 10,486 350 14.7 % 23 Meghalaya State 2,966,889 0.25 1,491,832 1,475,057 989 74.43 2,368,971 595,036 22,429 132 27.8 % 24 Manipur State 2,721,756 0.21 1,290,171 1,280,219 992 79.21 1,899,624 822,132 22,327 122 18.7 % 25 Nagaland State 1,978,502 0.16 1,024,649 953,853 931 79.55 1,406,861 573,741 16,579 119 - 0.5 % 26 Goa State 1,458,545 0.12 739,140 719,405 973 88.70 551,414 906,309 3,702 394 8.2 % 27 Arunachal Pradesh State 1,383,727 0.11 713,912 669,815 938 65.38 1,069,165 313,446 83,743 17 25.9 % 28 Puducherry UT 1,247,953 0.10 612,511 635,442 1,037 85.85 394,341 850,123 479 2,598 27.7 % 29 Mizoram State 1,097,206 0.09 555,339 541,867 976 91.33 529,037 561,997 21,081 52 22.8 % 30 Chandigarh UT 1,055,450 0.09 580,663 474,787 818 86.05 29,004 1,025,682 114 9,252 17.1 % 31 Sikkim State 610,577 0.05 323,070 287,507 890 81.42 455,962 151,726 7,096 86 12.4 % 32 Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT 380,581 0.03 202,871 177,710 876 86.63 244,411 135,533 8,249 46 6.7 % 33 Dadra and Nagar Haveli UT 343,709 0.03 193,760 149,949 774 76.24 183,024 159,829 491 698 55.5 % 34 Daman and Diu UT 243,247 0.02 150,301 92,946 618 87.10 60,331 182,580 112 2,169 53.5 % 35 Lakshadweep UT 64,473 0.01 33,123 31,350 946 91.85 14,121 50,308 32 2,013 6.2 % TOTAL India 35 1,210,854,977 100 623,724,248 586,469,174 943 73.00 833,087,662 377,105,760 3,287,240 382 17.64 % Religious demographics The religious data on India Census 2011 was released by the Government of India on 25 August, 2015. Hindus are 79.8 % ( 966.3 million ), while Muslims are 14.23 % ( 172.2 million ) in India. and Christians are 2.30 % ( 28.7 million ). For the first time, a `` No religion '' category was added in the 2011 census. 2.87 million were classified as people belonging to `` No Religion '' in India in the 2011 census. - 0.24 % of India 's population of 1.21 billion. Given below is the decade - by - decade religious composition of India till the 2011 census. There are six religions in India that have been awarded `` National Minority '' status - Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis. Sunnis, Shias, Bohras, Agakhanis and Ahmadiyyas were identified as sects of Islam in India. As per 2011 census, six major faiths - Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains make up over 99.4 % of India 's 121 crore population, while `` other religions, persuasions '' ( ORP ) count is 82. Among the ORP faiths, six faiths - 49.57 lakh - strong Sarna, 10.26 lakh - strong Gond, 5.06 lakh - strong Sari, Doni Polo ( 3.02 lakh ) in Arunachal Pradesh, Sanamahi ( 2.22 lakh ) in Manipur, Khasi ( 1.38 lakh ) in Meghalaya dominate. Maharashtra is having the highest number of atheists in the country with 9,652 such people, followed by Meghalaya ( 9,089 ) and Kerala. Population trends for major religious groups in India ( 1951 -- 2011 ) Religious group Population % 1951 Population % 1961 Population % 1971 Population % 1981 Population % 1991 Population % 2001 Population % 2011 Hinduism 84.1 % 83.45 % 82.73 % 82.30 % 81.53 % 80.46 % 79.80 % Islam 9.8 % 10.69 % 11.21 % 11.75 % 12.61 % 13.43 % 14.23 % Christianity 2.3 % 2.44 % 2.60 % 2.44 % 2.32 % 2.34 % 2.30 % Sikhism 1.79 % 1.79 % 1.89 % 1.92 % 1.94 % 1.87 % 1.72 % Buddhism 0.74 % 0.74 % 0.70 % 0.70 % 0.77 % 0.77 % 0.70 % Jainism 0.46 % 0.46 % 0.48 % 0.47 % 0.40 % 0.41 % 0.37 % Zoroastrianism 0.13 % 0.09 % 0.09 % 0.09 % 0.08 % 0.06 % n / a Other religions / No religion 0.43 % 0.43 % 0.41 % 0.42 % 0.44 % 0.72 % 0.9 % Literacy Any one above age 7 who can read and write in any language with an ability to understand was considered a literate. In censuses before 1991, children below the age 5 were treated as illiterates. The literacy rate taking the entire population into account is termed as `` crude literacy rate '', and taking the population from age 7 and above into account is termed as `` effective literacy rate ''. Effective literacy rate increased to a total of 74.04 % with 82.14 % of the males and 65.46 % of the females being literate. S.No. Census Year Total ( % ) Male ( % ) Female ( % ) 1901 5.35 9.83 0.60 1911 5.92 10.56 1.05 1921 7.16 12.21 1.81 1931 9.50 15.59 2.93 5 1941 16.10 24.90 7.30 6 1951 16.67 24.95 9.45 7 1961 24.02 34.44 12.95 8 1971 29.45 39.45 18.69 9 1981 36.23 46.89 24.82 10 1991 42.84 52.74 32.17 11 2001 64.83 75.26 53.67 12 2011 74.04 82.14 65.46 The table lists the `` crude literacy rate '' in India from 1901 to 2011. See also India portal Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 Demographics of India Other Backward Class Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes List of Other Backward Classes Notes `` Cities having population 1 lakh and above, Census 2011 '' ( PDF ). Census of India, 2011. References Jump up ^ `` Decadal Growth : www.censusindia.gov.in '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` India 's population -- 127, 42, 39,769 and growing ''. ^ Jump up to : C Chandramouli ( 23 August 2011 ). `` Census of India 2011 -- A Story of Innovations ''. Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Jump up ^ `` Do we really need the census ? ''. Jump up ^ Demand for caste census rocks Lok Sabha Jump up ^ `` Login ''. Jump up ^ `` OBC data not in 2011 Census, says Moily ''. Indian Express. 18 December 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` No data since 1931, will 2011 Census be all - caste inclusive ? -- The Times of India ''. The Times Of India. 11 March 2010. Jump up ^ `` Caste in Census 2011 : Is it necessary ? ''. The Times Of India. 28 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` OBCs form 41 % of population : Survey -- The Times of India ''. The Times Of India. 1 September 2007. Jump up ^ `` Govt releases socio - economic and caste census for better policy - making ''. 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Question: as per the census of india 2011 the state having the highest number of urban population is
Answer: Uttar Pradesh