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 2011.

 

Census 2011

 

Census 2011 put Kerala's population at 3,33,87,677 persons which included 16,021,290 males and 17,366,387 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 859 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 + 4.86% (1,546,303 persons). Kerala, with a sex-ratio (females per 1000 males) of 1084, 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.

   

Kerala Districtwise Population
District	Population	Males	Females
Thiruvananthapuram	33,07,284	15,84,200	17,23,084
Kollam	26,29,703	1244815	1384888
Alappuzha	2121943	1010252	1111691
Pathanamthitta	1195537	561620	633917
Kottayam	1979384	970140	1009244
Idukki	1107453	551944	555509
Ernakulam	3279860	1617602	1662258
Thrissur	3110327	1474665	1635662
Palakkad	2810892	1360067	1450825
Kozhikode	3089543	1473028	1616515
Wayanad	816558	401314	415244
Malappuram	4110956	1961014	2124942
Kannur	2525637	1184012	1341625
Kasargod	1302600	626617	675983
Total	33387677	16021290	17366387
Source : Census India 2011

 

          Malappuram is the most populated district and has a population of 41,10,956 people. Second comes Thiruvananthapuram with a population of 33,07,284 people followed by Ernakulam with 32,79,860 people. Wayanad is the least populated district followed by Idukki and Kasargod.Whereas, Thiruvananthapuram with a population density of 1509 persons per sq.km is the most densely populated district in Kerala followed by Alappuzha with 1501 people per sq.km and Kozhikode with 1318 persons per sq.km. Idukki with a density of just 254 persons per sq.km is the least densely populated district followed by Wayanad with a density of 383 persons. The average density of population of the state is 819 persons per sq.km.

          Kerala's urban population figures to 1,74,55,506 persons which is about one-fourth of the total population. Rural population in Kerala is 1,59,32,171. Of the total population of Kerala, working population (main and marginal workers) constitute 32.3% and non-workers form 67.7%.

          As per the Census 2001 data, Hindus, who constitute 56.20 per cent of the total population, is the most prominent religious community in the state. This is followed by Muslims 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.

Total Working and Non-Working Population of Kerala
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.

Category of Workers (Main and Marginal)
Cultivators	Agricultural Labourers	Household Industries	Others
740403 (7.2%)	1653601 (16.1%)	364770 (3.5%)	7532484 (73.2%)

 

   2011 Kerala census - At a Glance:

Description	2011
Approximate Population	3.33 Crore
Actual Population	33,387,677
Male	16,021,290
Female	17,366,387
Population Growth	4.86%
Percantage of total Population	2.76%
Sex Ratio	1084
Child Sex Ratio	959
Density/km2	859
Density/mi2	2,225
Area km2	38,863
Area mi2	15,005
Total Child Population (0-6 Age)	3,322,247
Male Population (0-6 Age)	1,695,935
Female Population (0-6 Age)	1,626,312
Literacy	93.91 %
Male Literacy	96.02 %
Female Literacy	91.98 %
Total Literate	28,234,227
Male Literate	13,755,888
Female Literate	14,478,339

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Rural and urban population 2011

 

Description	Rural	Urban
Population (%)	52.28 %	47.72 %
Total Population	17,455,506	15,932,171
Male Population	8,403,706	7,617,584
Female Population	9,051,800	8,314,587
Population Growth	-25.96 %	92.72 %
Sex Ratio	1077	1091
Child Sex Ratio (0-6)	960	958
Child Population (0-6)	1,747,512	1,574,735
Child Percentage (0-6)	10.01 %	9.88 %
Literates	14,595,727	13,638,500
Average Literacy	92.92 %	94.99 %
Male Literacy	95.29 %	96.83 %
Female Literacy	90.74 %	93.33 %

 

 

Population Census 2001 in Kerala

 

Population District wise Profile 2001

 

 

Reference

http://censusindia.gov.in/