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State · Capital: Patna

Bihar Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

13.23 crore Official projection RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March 1 March 2026 How this is made →

13,22,65,000 132.26 million 1 March 2026

Bihar's population is projected at 13.23 crore (13,22,65,000) on 1 March 2026, according to the RGI Technical Group's official projection. Census 2011, the last count, recorded 10,40,99,452.

RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March

Key figures

Population 2026
13.23 crore 13,22,65,000 Official projection RGI Technical Group on Population Projections (2020), as on 1 March How this is made →
Census 2011
10.41 crore 10,40,99,452 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density
1,106per km² 2011 · 2026: 1,405
Sex ratio
918 females per 1,000 males
Child sex ratio (0–6)
935 India 918
Literacy rate
61.8% Male 71.2% · Female 51.5%
Urban share
11.3% 2026: 12.5% (projected)
Growth 2001–11
+25.4% 2011→2026: +27.1%
Area
94,163km²
Households
1.89 crore 5.5 people per household
Work participation
33.4% 2011
Children 0–6
1.91 crore 18.4%

Where it ranks

Population over time

Census counts 1951–2011, then the official projection to 2036.

Bihar: Population over time
  • Census
  • Official projection
15 cr 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
19512,90,85,017
19613,48,40,968
19714,21,26,236
19815,23,02,665
19916,45,30,554
20018,29,98,509
201110,40,99,452
2016 *11,41,76,000
2021 *12,30,83,000
2026 *13,22,65,000
2031 *14,10,41,000
2036 *14,85,76,000

* Official projection

Districts (38)

All 38 districts of Bihar →
All 38 districts of Bihar
#
1 Patna≈ 73.4 lakh58,38,46589770.7%
2 East Champaran≈ 66.31 lakh50,99,37190255.8%
3 Muzaffarpur≈ 61.96 lakh48,01,06290063.4%
4 Madhubani≈ 57.02 lakh44,87,37992658.6%
5 Gaya≈ 56.1 lakh43,91,41893763.7%
6 Samastipur≈ 54.16 lakh42,61,56691161.9%
7 Saran≈ 49.05 lakh39,51,86295466.0%
8 West Champaran≈ 51.13 lakh39,35,04290955.7%
9 Darbhanga≈ 48.09 lakh39,27,11391156.5%
10 Vaishali≈ 45.49 lakh35,17,42489566.5%
11 Sitamarhi≈ 44.05 lakh34,23,57489952.1%
12 Siwan≈ 41.6 lakh33,30,46498869.5%

* 2026 figures are our estimates (method M1), tied to the official Bihar projection.

Largest cities in Bihar

All large cities of Bihar →

  • Patna

    City (2011): 16,84,222

    Metro (2011): 20,49,156

  • Gaya

    City (2011): 4,68,614

    Metro (2011): 4,75,987

  • Bhagalpur

    City (2011): 4,00,146

    Metro (2011): 4,12,209

  • Muzaffarpur

    City (2011): 3,54,462

    Metro (2011): 3,96,590

  • Biharsharif

    City (2011): 2,97,268

  • Darbhanga

    City (2011): 2,96,039

    Metro (2011): 3,08,011

  • Purnia

    City (2011): 2,82,248

    Metro (2011): 3,12,669

  • Arrah

    City (2011): 2,61,430

Births, deaths and fertility

Birth rate
25.8 (18.4)
per 1,000 people
Death rate
6.1 (6.4)
per 1,000 people
Infant mortality
23 (25)
per 1,000 live births
Fertility rate (TFR)
2.8 (1.9)
children per woman
Sex ratio at birth
897 (917)
females per 1,000 males

SRS 2023 Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2023 (ORGI) How this is made → Sample Registration System 2023. India in brackets.

Age structure of Bihar

Population in five-year age groups, Census 2011. Men on the left, women on the right. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Age structure of Bihar
MenWomen
  1. 80+
  2. 75-79
  3. 70-74
  4. 65-69
  5. 60-64
  6. 55-59
  7. 50-54
  8. 45-49
  9. 40-44
  10. 35-39
  11. 30-34
  12. 25-29
  13. 20-24
  14. 15-19
  15. 10-14
  16. 5-9
  17. 0-4
› Show the numbers as a table
AgeMenWomen
0-465,76,87161,88,158
5-977,96,35972,39,918
10-1473,23,83165,96,051
15-1952,90,58141,82,114
20-2442,10,58538,54,150
25-2938,28,68738,43,018
30-3435,10,59635,45,141
35-3933,08,16131,49,100
40-4427,56,80924,08,883
45-4922,09,99420,60,380
50-5418,08,42515,04,315
55-5913,30,35614,66,322
60-6415,59,92514,48,083
65-6911,03,7189,86,061
70-747,84,3835,95,148
75-792,97,9732,52,506
80+3,60,5943,18,754
Children (0–14)
40.2%
India 30.9%
Working age (15–59)
52.3%
India 60.5%
Older people (60+)
7.4%
India 8.6%
Median age
20.4years
India 24.9
Dependency ratio
81.0
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
India 57.1

Languages spoken in Bihar

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 88 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Bihar
  1. Hindi 77.5%
  2. Maithili 12.5%
  3. Urdu 8.4%
  4. Bengali 0.8%
  5. Santali 0.4%
  6. Kurukh/Oraon 0.1%
  7. Malto 0.1%
  8. Others 0.0%
  9. All other languages 0.1%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Hindi25.5%
  2. Bhojpuri24.9%
  3. Maithili12.4%
  4. Magadhi/Magahi10.9%
  5. Urdu8.4%
  6. Surjapuri1.8%
  7. Bengali0.8%
  8. Santali0.4%

Housing and amenities in Bihar

Share of households, Houselisting Census 2011. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 16.4%

    India 67.4%

  • Tap water 4.4%

    India 43.7%

  • Water source within premises 50.1%

    India 46.7%

  • Toilet within premises 23.1%

    India 47.1%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 75.8%

    India 49.6%

  • Bathing area within premises 37.5%

    India 58.6%

  • Closed drainage 6.7%

    India 18.3%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 8.1%

    India 28.7%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 88.9%

    India 65.6%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 53.2%

    India 59.3%

  • Television 14.5%

    India 47.3%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 8.1%

    India 21.1%

  • Computer or laptop 7.1%

    India 9.5%

  • Car, jeep or van 1.7%

    India 4.7%

  • Use banking services 44.4%

    India 58.8%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 25.6%

    India 17.8%

The home itself

  • Own their home 96.8%

    India 86.5%

  • Rent their home 2.1%

    India 11.1%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 48.0%

    India 62.0%

  • House in good condition 36.1%

    India 53.2%

  • Concrete roof 23.8%

    India 29.1%

  • Cement or tiled floor 15.2%

    India 42.1%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 47.7%

    India 41.0%

India

Per capita income of Bihar

Per capita Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) at current prices, the standard measure of state per capita income. NSO National Statistical Office (MoSPI), compiled in the RBI Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25 How this is made →

Per capita income 2024-25
₹69,321
#33 of 33 States/UTs in 2023-24
Real growth, latest year (2024-25)
+7.0%
per capita, constant 2011-12 prices
Average real growth a year since 2011-12 (13 years)
+4.0%
GSDP 2024-25
₹9.9 lakh crore
Gross State Domestic Product, current prices
Per capita income of Bihar
› Show the numbers as a table
YearCurrent prices (₹)Constant 2011-12 prices (₹)
2011-1221,75021,750
2012-1324,48722,201
2013-1426,94822,776
2014-1528,67123,223
2015-1630,40424,064
2016-1734,04525,455
2017-1836,85026,719
2018-1940,71529,092
2019-2044,17529,798
2020-2142,12826,839
2021-2247,29627,674
2022-2354,63730,678
2023-2462,20133,966
2024-2569,32136,342

Median State/UT 2023-24: ₹2,34,721. Financial years (April–March). Latest years are advance or quick estimates and get revised.

What the numbers say

  • Bihar is home to 9.29% of India's people and is the 2nd most populous of the 36 States and Union Territories.
  • The official projection has Bihar growing 27.1% between Census 2011 and 1 March 2026, faster than India's 17.6%.
  • Literacy in 2011 was 61.8%, 11.2 points below the national rate of 73.0%.
  • There were 918 females for every 1,000 males in 2011 (India: 943).
  • 11.3% of people lived in towns in 2011; the official projection puts the urban share at 12.5% in 2026.
  • A woman in Bihar has 2.8 children on average (SRS 2023), above the replacement level of 2.1.
  • Patna is the most populous district, with 58.38 lakh people in 2011 (5.6% of the state).
  • At 1106 people per km² in 2011, Bihar is 2.9 times as crowded as India as a whole (382).

Compare with

Census 2027 status

Results pending

  1. Phase I: houselisting

    Done (2 May 2026 – 31 May 2026)

  2. Phase II: counting people

    February 2027 (reference date 1 March 2027)

  3. Results

    Not yet released. In 2011, first figures came about a month after counting ended.

When the Registrar General publishes Census 2027 figures for Bihar, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Bihar (Census 2011)

Official figures as published by the Office of the Registrar General. Shown without commentary. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Population by religion in Bihar (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareIndia
Hindu 8,60,78,686 82.7% 79.8%
Muslim 1,75,57,809 16.9% 14.2%
Christian 1,29,247 0.1% 2.3%
Sikh 23,779 0.0% 1.7%
Buddhist 25,453 0.0% 0.7%
Jain 18,914 0.0% 0.4%
Other religions and persuasions 13,437 0.0% 0.7%
Religion not stated 2,52,127 0.2% 0.2%
Total10,40,99,452100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Bihar in 2026?
The official projection by the RGI Technical Group puts Bihar's population at 13,22,65,000 (13.23 crore) on 1 March 2026. No census count exists after 2011; Census 2027 results will replace this projection.

What was the population of Bihar in Census 2011?
Census 2011 counted 10,40,99,452 people in Bihar: 5,42,78,157 males and 4,98,21,295 females.

Which district of Bihar has the largest population?
Patna had the most people in 2011 (58,38,465). The least populous was Sheikhpura (6,36,342).

What is the sex ratio and literacy rate of Bihar?
In Census 2011 Bihar had 918 females per 1,000 males (child sex ratio 935) and a literacy rate of 61.8% (men 71.2%, women 51.5%).

When will Census 2027 figures for Bihar be released?
Counting of people takes place in February 2027 with a reference date of 1 March 2027. The government has not announced a release date; in 2011 provisional totals came out on 31 March 2011, about a month after counting ended. This page will switch to Census 2027 figures as soon as they are published.

⤓ Download Bihar data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction