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District of Bihar

Patna District Population 2026

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 73.4 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

73,40,000 7.34 million 1 March 2026

Patna district's population is estimated at ≈73.4 lakh (73,40,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Bihar projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 58,38,465.

Estimate: method M1, constrained to the RGI projection for Bihar. Census: ORGI.

Which number do you mean?

The district, the city and the metro area are three different areas. Pick the one you mean.

City

Patna (municipal limits)

Census 2011
16,84,222
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 20 lakh

Metro area (UA)

Patna urban agglomeration

Census 2011
20,49,156
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 25 lakh

District

Patna district

Census 2011
58,38,465
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
≈ 73.4 lakh

Key figures

Population 2026
≈ 73.4 lakh 73,40,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011
58.38 lakh 58,38,465 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density
1,823per km² 2011
Sex ratio
897 Bihar: 918
Child sex ratio (0–6)
909 Bihar: 935
Literacy rate
70.7% Male 78.5% · Female 62.0%
Urban share
43.1% Bihar: 11.3%
Growth 2001–11
+23.7% Bihar: +25.4%
Area
3,202km² Census 2011
Households
9.76 lakh 6.0 people per household
Villages
1,388 Census 2011
Towns
22 Census 2011

Where it ranks

Population over time

Census counts on 2011 boundaries, then our estimate to 2036.

Patna: Population over time
  • Census
  • Estimate
82 L 2026
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
195116,00,295
196118,61,811
197122,50,883
198130,19,201
199136,18,211
200147,18,592
201158,38,465
2016 *63,81,000
2021 *68,55,000
2026 *73,40,000
2031 *77,98,000
2036 *81,84,000

* Estimate

How Patna's 2011 population was spread

Sub-districts (tehsils, talukas, mandals or blocks) as they were in Census 2011. “Part” means only some of it now lies in this district.

How Patna's 2011 population was spread
#
1 Patna Rural 17,71,14030.3%88582.3%95.3%
2 Dinapur-Cum-Khagaul3,97,8176.8%88072.9%66.1%
3 Phulwari2,73,1294.7%90274.3%39.7%
4 Maner2,68,9984.6%89960.3%14.9%
5 Bihta2,61,4274.5%89970.1%21.4%
6 Paliganj2,54,9044.4%94765.4%4.2%
7 Masaurhi 2,41,2164.1%91764.4%24.8%
8 Bakhtiarpur2,27,3823.9%88360.3%21.1%
9 Barh2,16,3483.7%87664.1%28.4%
10 Dhanarua2,11,3763.6%93260.7%0.0%
11 Naubatpur2,03,5943.5%90168.1%12.3%
12 Mokameh2,02,4113.5%87665.2%32.4%
13 Fatwah1,98,0083.4%89661.5%25.7%
14 Bikram1,69,5102.9%91671.3%13.3%
15 Pandarak1,54,6132.6%89259.5%0.0%
16 Punpun1,38,1432.4%92162.5%0.0%
17 Dulhin Bazar1,24,9662.1%93165.4%0.0%
18 Khusrupur1,09,5041.9%90458.1%14.4%
19 Sampatchak1,06,8661.8%90467.5%0.0%
20 Athmalgola90,9641.6%88862.0%0.0%
21 Daniawan 75,0861.3%90562.3%0.0%
22 Ghoswari74,8981.3%88350.2%0.0%
23 Belchhi66,1651.1%90157.6%0.0%

Largest towns in Patna (Census 2011)

Largest towns in Patna (Census 2011)
  1. Patna 16,84,297
  2. Dinapur Nizamat 1,82,429
  3. Phulwari Sharif 81,740
  4. Barh 61,470
  5. Mokameh 60,678
  6. Masaurhi 59,803
  7. Fatwah 50,961
  8. Bakhtiarpur 47,897
  9. Bihta 47,549
  10. Khagaul 44,364

How people in Patna worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

14.4%

Agricultural labourers

35.0%

Household industry

4.5%

Other work

46.1%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 32.2%.

Age structure of Patna

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 Patna
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
0-43,28,6873,00,792
5-93,91,5523,52,537
10-143,83,7173,39,956
15-193,15,3932,58,121
20-242,60,9132,31,757
25-292,35,1052,28,034
30-342,17,5242,08,151
35-391,98,0181,85,335
40-441,69,2271,44,316
45-491,36,0031,24,080
50-541,11,94390,314
55-5982,55983,043
60-6488,51079,844
65-6961,05554,801
70-7446,62235,205
75-7919,72616,204
80+24,27521,537
Children (0–14)
36.0%
Bihar 40.2%
Working age (15–59)
56.3%
Bihar 52.3%
Older people (60+)
7.7%
Bihar 7.4%
Median age
22.5years
Bihar 20.4
Dependency ratio
68.9
children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64
Bihar 81.0

Languages spoken in Patna

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 42 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Languages spoken in Patna
  1. Hindi 93.2%
  2. Urdu 5.2%
  3. Maithili 1.2%
  4. Bengali 0.2%
  5. Punjabi 0.1%
  6. Others 0.0%
  7. English 0.0%
  8. Santali 0.0%
  9. All other languages 0.1%

Largest mother tongues

  1. Magadhi/Magahi46.3%
  2. Hindi43.8%
  3. Urdu5.2%
  4. Bhojpuri2.7%
  5. Maithili1.2%
  6. Bengali0.2%
  7. Punjabi0.1%
  8. Bishnoi0.0%

Housing and amenities in Patna

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

Basic services

  • Electricity for lighting 57.1%

    Bihar 16.4%

  • Tap water 24.2%

    Bihar 4.4%

  • Water source within premises 63.5%

    Bihar 50.1%

  • Toilet within premises 53.0%

    Bihar 23.1%

  • Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 45.3%

    Bihar 75.8%

  • Bathing area within premises 58.8%

    Bihar 37.5%

  • Closed drainage 27.6%

    Bihar 6.7%

  • Cooking with LPG/PNG 33.6%

    Bihar 8.1%

  • Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 60.8%

    Bihar 88.9%

What households own

  • Mobile phone 65.2%

    Bihar 53.2%

  • Television 47.3%

    Bihar 14.5%

  • Scooter or motorcycle 18.4%

    Bihar 8.1%

  • Computer or laptop 13.9%

    Bihar 7.1%

  • Car, jeep or van 5.2%

    Bihar 1.7%

  • Use banking services 62.5%

    Bihar 44.4%

  • None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 18.4%

    Bihar 25.6%

The home itself

  • Own their home 86.7%

    Bihar 96.8%

  • Rent their home 10.9%

    Bihar 2.1%

  • Permanent (pucca) house 70.0%

    Bihar 48.0%

  • House in good condition 46.0%

    Bihar 36.1%

  • Concrete roof 42.5%

    Bihar 23.8%

  • Cement or tiled floor 41.3%

    Bihar 15.2%

  • One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 30.1%

    Bihar 47.7%

Bihar

What the numbers say

  • Patna district held 5.6% of Bihar's population in 2011, 1st of 38 districts.
  • Literacy is 70.7%, 8.9 points above the Bihar average of 61.8%.
  • The gender gap in literacy is wide: 78.5% of men but only 62.0% of women could read and write in 2011.
  • The sex ratio of 897 females per 1,000 males is lower than the state's 918.
  • 43.1% of residents lived in towns in 2011, more urban than Bihar as a whole (11.3%).
  • Our 2026 estimate, ≈73.4 lakh, implies growth of about 26% since 2011; it is tied to the official Bihar projection.
  • Its largest town, Patna, had 16.84 lakh people in 2011, 28.8% of the district.

Compare with

All districts of Bihar →

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 Patna, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Patna (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 Patna (Census 2011)
ReligionPersonsShareBihar
Hindu 53,56,075 91.7% 82.7%
Muslim 4,39,952 7.5% 16.9%
Christian 12,551 0.2% 0.1%
Sikh 4,803 0.1% 0.0%
Buddhist 1,062 0.0% 0.0%
Jain 2,151 0.0% 0.0%
Other religions and persuasions 203 0.0% 0.0%
Religion not stated 21,668 0.4% 0.2%
Total58,38,465100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Patna district in 2026?
Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈73,40,000 (73.4 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Patna's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Bihar projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 58,38,465.

What was the population of Patna district in Census 2011?
58,38,465: 30,78,512 males and 27,59,953 females, of whom 25,14,590 lived in towns and 33,23,875 in villages.

What is the literacy rate and sex ratio of Patna?
Literacy was 70.7% in 2011 (men 78.5%, women 62.0%). The sex ratio was 897 females per 1,000 males, and 909 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Patna district?
Patna, with 16,84,297 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Patna district?
On today's boundaries the district contains 1,388 Census 2011 villages and 22 towns.

⤓ Download Bihar district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: · Report a correction